This Is a Moose

by Richard T Morris (Author) Tom Lichtenheld (Illustrator)

This Is a Moose
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade
From the author of "Bye-Bye Baby!" and a #1 "New York Times"-bestselling artist comes a hilarious picture book about a family of moose on a movie set who refuse to be typecast. Full color.
Select format:
Hardcover
$18.99

Publishers Weekly

Morris (Bye-Bye, Baby!) and Lichtenheld (Steam Train, Dream Train) preside over loud and cheerful mayhem as animal moviemakers try to film a serious moose documentary ("This is the mighty moose," it opens) but are thwarted by a group of stars that refuse to be typecast. Their subject, wearing a homemade space helmet, announces that he wants to be an astronaut. In lipstick and pearls, Grandmother Moose says that she always wanted to be a lacrosse goalie: "Go ahead! Whip a shot in!" she challenges, "I'll stiff you, sonny!" Defying the documentary project and its bossy, imperious director, the other woodland creatures (including a giraffe with medical aspirations) conspire to send the astronaut moose into space with an oversize rubber band: "SPROING!" Deadpan delivery, sharp timing, and Lichtenheld's antic artwork all contribute to high-octane entertainment that also addresses defying expectations, not to mention gravity. Amid the fun, the punchline (the duck director's realization that he isn't acting any more "natural" than the moose is) offers an opportunity to discuss double standards. Ages 3-6. Author's agent: Alice Tasman, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency. Illustrator's agent: Amy Rennert, Amy Rennert Agency. (May)

Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2--Moose is the subject of a film, but the director is not happy with his performance. Moose's ideas of "moosehood" do not match the traditional expectations of the script, frustrating Billy Waddler to no end. Moose wants to be an astronaut and is well on his way to achieving his goal. With the support of his lacrosse goalie grandmother and his giraffe friend, an aspiring doctor, Moose just may do it and stretch the perspective of one enlightened movie director. With text in bold type and hand-lettered speech bubbles, this title will find itself in the hands of beginning readers as well as those who are a little more advanced. Created in ink, colored pencil, and gouache, the full-color, often full-page illustrations are hilarious, and Lictenheld's attention to detail will have kids scouring every page. The message to break down stereotypes and push past social constraints is clear but isn't delivered in a sappy, predictable manner. A perfect vehicle to introduce such topics in a safe and engaging way, this fun picture book be appreciated by students, teachers, librarians, and parents alike.--Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"Morris gives This is a Moose an unexpected and lively structure. Lichtenheld is a master of texture: His fir trees look spiky; the duck's beret has the soft thickness of felt; and the blue sky, with delicate variations in color, has the opacity of northern morning as the fog begins to lift."—The New York Times
Richard T Morris
Richard T. Morris is the author of Sheep 101, This Is a Moose and Bye-Bye, Baby! and a former E.B. White Award Honoree and Midwest Bookseller Choice Award winner. He lives in New Jersey with his family.
New York Times bestselling illustrator and Caldecott Honor winner LeUyen Pham has created over ninety books for children, including Sheep 101, The Princess in Black series with Shannon and Dean Hale, Freckleface Strawberry with Julianne Moore, and her own The Bear Who Wasn't There.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780316213608
Lexile Measure
270
Guided Reading Level
K
Publisher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date
May 06, 2014
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV002290 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Deer, Moose & Caribou
Library of Congress categories
Humorous stories
Animals
Habits and behavior
Production and direction
Moose
Documentary films
Midwest Booksellers' Choice Award
Winner 2014 - 2014
Cybils
Finalist 2014 - 2014
E.B. White Read Aloud Award
Honor Book 2015 - 2015
Beehive Awards
Nominee 2016 - 2016
Monarch Award
Nominee 2016 - 2016
Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award
Nominee 2016 - 2016

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!