Moose Tracks!

by Karma Wilson, Jack E. Davis (Illustrator)

Overview

There are moose tracks on the back porch . . .

in the kitchen . . .

in the den . . .

There are moose tracks EVERYWHERE!

Who left all these moose tracks?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689834370
Publisher:	Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication date:	02/28/2006
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	142,108
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Karma Wilson is the bestselling author of several picture books, including the Bear Books series, Where Is Home, Little Pip?, and A Dog Named Doug. Karma lives in Montana.

Editorial Reviews

Part game, part mystery, Wilson's (Bear Snores On) rhyming, jaunty story brims with eccentric characters. The narrator, who goes unseen until the final spread, finds evidence on every page that someone has been in his house because he detects moose tracks everywhere. He remembers the nut shells from the chipmunk who made fudge sundaes for the two of them to share, the feathers from the goose who dropped by to play hokey-pokey and the woodchips from the beaver houseguest who took a bite out of the bedpost. "But who left all those moose tracks?" In addition to a surfeit of hoof prints, the messy house brims with dogs, cats, birds, frogs and all kinds of amusing creatures that may well distract youngsters enough to be completely and pleasantly caught off guard by the answer to the narrator's question. Davis's acrylic, watercolor and ink illustrations include plenty of added details and comedy enough to provide interest for more than one reading, even when readers already know the solution to the mystery. Ages 4-7. (Mar.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

A country house full of animal friends having tea and ice cream, playing badminton, and socializing greets readers as they turn each page. The owner of the house is trying to solve the mystery of who left the dirty moose tracks throughout his house. The reader is not clued in until the end of the book that the homeowner is a moose and the tracks are actually his tracks. The moose is so puzzled as to who could have left all the moose tracks on his cupboards, furniture, bathtub, bed, and car, and keeps asking "who could have left all these moose tracks?" It is humorous because he keeps encountering moose tracks everywhere that he has been around his house. Kids will want to scream out that he is the culprit! The colorful blend of acrylics, water, and ink illustrations give the book a playful summer day feeling. The animals take on human characteristics by eating at the table, taking baths, and sleeping in a bed. The rhythmic, rhyming text has a sing-song appeal that makes this a fun read aloud. This is written by the same author as the popular Bear Snores On.

Children's Literature - Melissa A. Caudill

K-Gr 2-A narrator whose identity is not revealed until story's end describes a none-too-clean house and yard, and is puzzled by the vast number of moose tracks covering almost every surface. Other messes are easy to attribute to various visitors. A bear left hair on the lawn chair, a chipmunk scattered shells on the counter, and a beaver sprayed wood chips from the bedpost all over the guest room after a midnight snack. The moose prints remain a mystery until the final spread reveals who the culprit is. Wilson's rhyming text will keep youngsters laughing at the animal friends and their antics. Davis's goggle-eyed cartoon style adds fun to the tale, highlighting the house's eclectic appearance, cozy untidiness, and the noise and energy of its inhabitants. The creatures are packed with personality: a ram wears tortoiseshell glasses and a polka-dot bow tie, a goose with a pearl necklace delicately sips tea, and a smiling mouse maid scurries around trying to keep up with the clutter. An enjoyable choice for storytime, this book will hold children's interest right up to the amusing-and appropriately predictable-ending.-Susan E. Murray, Glendale Public Library, AZ Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Overlaid with hoofprints, but also filled floor to ceiling with clutter and bric-a-brac, Davis's full-bleed domestic scenes furnish a backdrop to an unseen narrator's mystified rhyme, as an array of wildlife looks on: "There are wood chips in my guest bed, / but a beaver spent the night. / He got hungry, and the bedpost / looked so good, he took a bite. / Wood chips, I remember. / But who left all these moose tracks?" Young readers will be on tenterhooks to find out-but neither writer nor illustrator provides a clue to the culprit. Until the final scene, that is, when the complainer finally puts in an appearance, sporting both antlers and an air of injured innocence-"Why, look at me-I AM a moose / and I don't make a mess!" Yeah, right. Neat freaks and most parents will be eager to share this breezy outing with the slobs in their lives. (Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews