May 23, 2014

Perfect Picture Book Friday - This Is A Moose

My goodness what a busy week that was!  I can't believe it's Friday again already!

I didn't manage to finish even half the work I hoped to get done, but I did get to go on a particularly wonderful school visit.  Look at the lovely displays they made to welcome me:



So bright and cheery, aren't they?  And lots and lots of my favorite characters :)

I was hoping to have a picture with the kids in it, but I didn't get it in time.  Trust me - they were terrific, and super cute too :)

But now, it is time for a Perfect Picture Book!  This is such a fun one!  If you haven't had a chance to see it, trot right over to the library.  It will make you laugh :)

Title: This Is A Moose
Written By: Richard T. Morris
Illustrated By: Tom Lichtenheld
Little Brown & Company, May 2014, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-8

Themes/Topics: being yourself, imagination, perseverance

Opening: "This is the Mighty Moose.  His father is a moose.  His mother is a moose.  This moose wants to be an astronaut. CUT!"

Brief Synopsis: Billy Waddler is making a film.  A film about a moose.  At least, it's supposed to be about a moose.  But this moose simply will not conform to Billy's idea of what a moose should be.  In fact, no one in this book is behaving the way they're supposed to.  What's a filmmaker to do?

Links To Resources:  Fun facts about moose;  Classroom activities about moose, including a hands-and-feet moose poster and a make-your-own moose with moving parts; Moose coloring pages; Moose maze (there are other animal mazes, too); read and compare with Morris The Moose Goes To School by Bernard Wiseman; ask your kids or students what they want to be when they grow up.



Why I Like This Book:  This book is colorful, engaging, and funny.  The filmmaker is single-minded in his mission, and the other characters consistently frustrate him with their non-conformity, resulting in some great comedy :)  The story is about characters who refuse to be pigeon-holed into stereotypical roles, and it carries the messages that you should be yourself no matter what, and that no one person's vision is more important than another's.  The art is fabulous and includes many fun details that kids will enjoy exploring.  I dare you not to love this book :)

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF bloggers, please leave your post-specific links in the list below so we can all come visit you and see what delights you chose this week!

Have a GREAT Memorial Day weekend, everyone, and enjoy the day off Monday while we celebrate  and give thanks for the brave men and women who gave the last full measure of devotion for their country.  Although summer won't really begin for another month, Memorial Day always seems like the moment it arrives, so happy summer, everyone! :)


47 comments:

  1. Oh - this sounds like a fun one, Susanna! Glad you enjoyed your school visit. Hope I did mine right - and that you enjoy it :)

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  2. Congratulations! I know who to tap when I need to prepare my own school visits. . . . . Hmmmm. I wonder who is on the 2015 schedule at our school.

    Thanks for the book review. Girls like to giggle, but boys love it when chaos ensues. I've got to find this for my little non-conformist.



    Happy holiday weekend!

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  3. Well, this book just looks hilarious! And I like hilarious. I'll have to check this one out! Thanks!

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  4. This_Kid_Reviews_Books_ErikMay 23, 2014 at 9:06 AM

    This sounds like an awesome book! I need to get it! Congrats on your successful author visit! Did they pay you with Chocolate? ;)

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  5. Catherine JohnsonMay 23, 2014 at 9:19 AM

    That sounds fun and cute, Susanna. Just like your school visit. Enjoy the long weekend!

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  6. Ooh I love the bulletin boards with your name! You are a rock star author. :) I've seen Moose reviewed twice now and there's no excuse for me not to get myself a copy to read. It looks hilarious.

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  7. Aww! Look at all the little groundhoggies! What a wonderful welcome.

    And I love the idea of nonconformist moose. Or is it mooses? Meese?

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  8. What a marvelous bulletin board they made for you, Susanna! I can feel the love from here. :)

    This picture book pic sounds perfect for me - so silly and ornery (my middle names)! Putting it on my to-read list. Happy Friday!

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  9. I love the board too. This book looks familiar, but I realized the one I recently checked out was a 2010 book by a different author. :) We'll have to find this one. I'm not sure why I couldn't comment earlier today. Looks like the world is OK now. A world without comments ... oh my. Have a great weekend.

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  10. I'm sure you just WOW the kiddos when you visit. That's a wonderful bulletin board that they created for you.
    Thanks for sharing such a cute book. Love those non-conformists! Why fit in when you can stand out?

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  11. Here it is after one and I forgot it was Friday! And I'm #13 on the linky list. Hope that doesn't mean bad luck for me!


    Anything Tom Lihtenheild illustrates is something I must read. Thanks for intro Susanna. I love funny picture books. :)

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  12. Lucky you to receive such a warm welcome, Susanna. And lucky kids to meet you. I look forward to reading your pick - I love the expression on the cover.

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  13. What a lovely welcome they gave you, Susanna...but I'm not surprised. ;)
    I love this book...it looks REALLY funny! I'm pretty sure Jeremy would enjoy it...I'll try to get a copy. Not sure if I will be able to post for PPBF...son and family coming tomorrow...but I'll see...I've got a great stack of picture books fresh from the library. :)

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  14. Great review! Will have to get this one for our school library.

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  15. I have been waiting to see this one and I am sure I won't be disappointed. Or will I? :-) Great review and enjoy your weekend.

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  16. I love the bulletin boards! You're my idol!

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  17. This book sounds very cute and the cover is adorable. Thanks for the review. By the way, for some reason, I have stopped receiving emails about your blog. I tried to sign up again, but it says I am already signed up. 8-(

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  18. Nice bulletin board to greet you! That moose book does sound very funny! I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

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  19. Glad you had a great school visit :-)


    And I love your choice for PPBF. Be who you want to be moose! Yeah!

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  20. Thanks, Angela :) And, in case you're wondering, this moose wants to be an astronaut :)

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  21. It was so lovely! And I hope you enjoy the book if you get to see it - I know I'm easily amused, but I thought it was funny :)

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  22. I'm glad you like the look of the book, Rosi. And I'm sorry about the blog notifications. You're the second person who has told me this, and I don't know what's causing the problem :(

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  23. Aw, shucks, Genevieve - I bet your better on a school visit any day :)

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  24. Hahaha :) I don't think you'll be disappointed :) Have a great weekend!

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  25. I think it will be a popular one! Just my humble opinion, but I think it's funny :)

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  26. It really was lovely! I was so touched. As you can tell by the fact that I took pictures :) I hope you like This Is A Moose if you get to read it - I think Jeremy would enjoy it too. And no worries about PPBF... although I think I may have seen a post notification from you in my overflowing inbox so I'm guessing you managed!

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  27. I was lucky indeed. It was a great visit! I think you'll like this one, Julie - I think you'll appreciate the humor and the art!

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  28. I hope you like this one, Clar - I think it's very fun. And I agree with you - apparently I can't resist anything Tom Lichtenheld illustrates :)

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  29. I don't know about WOW, but I hope they have a good time :) I hope you like the book if you get a chance to read it, and I love your statement of theme - a good one to keep in mind for future stories :)

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  30. I think you and Enzo would enjoy this one - it's very fun! And thank goodness you were able to comment eventually. Thank you for bothering to come back - I really appreciate it. I've had several people tell me lately that they can't comment, and two people tell me they've stopped receiving my notifications. I don't know what's up :(

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  31. I know! Weren't they so sweet? And some of those little characters had clearly been worked on very diligently! I think you would get a kick out of this book - maybe enough of one for Your Favorite Scene :) Happy Friday to you too! :)

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  32. I know! Aren't they so cute? It was such fun to see them all :)


    And I believe the word you're looking for is mice.

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  33. I know, Wendy - I felt so famous :) Yes, you must certainly read this book - it's tons of fun :)

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  34. Perhaps your kids would enjoy this one - you have moose in your neck of the woods, don't you? Of course, this isn't your normal run-of-the-mill moose - he wants to be an astronaut... :)

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  35. Sadly no. There was no chocolate involved. At all. But amazingly I had a great time anyway :) Hope you enjoy the book!

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  36. I think it will make you laugh, Rhythm :)

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  37. You're very kind, Joanne :) And I hope you get a chance to read this book - it made me laugh out loud :)

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  38. Glad you approve, Donna :) And I'm glad you also loved the book! It was very fun to be greeted by Phyllis, Phil and the sheep all over the walls - I felt right at home :)

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  39. I'm glad you like the look of it, Joanne. And although it is 9 PM and I'm just getting to PPBF, I can't wait to see what you picked :)

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  40. Same here! I"ve stopped getting notifications as well. I have to google you to go to the blog. Glad to know I"m not the only one. :)

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  41. Kirsten Peavy BockMay 24, 2014 at 2:28 PM

    I just read this book and it is absolutely hilarious! Love it!

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  42. I'm glad you found it as hilarious as I did, Kirsten! :)

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  43. ACK! I am not glad! It bothers me tremendously to know so many people are not getting notifications! But I just realized that I have not been getting notifications from a bunch of blogs - which I realized today when a bunch showed up and I thought, gee, where have they been? I'm hoping that might mean it was a blogger thing and they've now corrected it... but nothing with blogger is ever that simple!

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  44. I Know Wordpress has a Reader and many of the blogs I follow on wordPresss show up there. It has greatly decreased my inbox amount but bloggers didn't do that. I was still getting notifications from blogger except lately. IS there a place you can find out? Discus or someplace?

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  45. Well, Disqus is a commenting system, not a notification system, so I don't think that's it. It might be feed burner. Or something specific to blogger. In the past day or so I've gotten notifications from a number of blogspot blogs that I realized I haven't heard from for most of May, so I'm hoping maybe it was a blogger problem and they've fixed it...

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  46. Joining in your discussion with Clare. Your blogposts dropped off my inbox for a while. I only just found it started going to my spam mail! But I'm now getting it again.

    Sounds like a fun book! I love the idea of a moose astronaut!

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  47. Congratulations on your school visit! I haven't done one of those yet...I did a school carnival, which was a little less stressful than getting up in front of a roomful of kids and talking. I'm getting hives just thinking about it!

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