Moose, Goose, and Mouse

November 2, 2020
This bubbly early reader by the late Caldecott Medalist, with colorwork completed by Mack (Just a Story), imagines three animal housemates looking for a new place to live. Green Moose has wavy antlers and wobbly legs, blue Goose has an undulating neck, and hot pink Mouse’s tail resembles a tightly coiled watch spring. Their home is a mess, with wonky windows and the door off its hinges; it’s “wet and old,” “full of mold,” and “very cold!” And what they seek is modest: a house that’s “sunny” and “funny” and features “a bunny.” A loose caboose and a precipitous hill lead to an unexpected home in an unexpected place—one that fulfills all their requirements. The text hews to early reader style, with rhymes that make it easy to guess which words are coming, and there’s enough bonkers activity that the pages almost turn themselves. Gerstein’s sweet-tempered, sunny view of life shines through this story of a group of creatures who promptly realize that what seems like a chaotic accident is actually the home they’ve been looking for. Ages 3–7.

December 1, 2020
Grades 1-3 Yearning for a new house that is sunny, funny, and maybe comes with a bunny, the titular trio boards a train in the rain and sets out on a brief but--once the caboose slips loose on a steep slope--exciting journey that is as rich in rhyming words as it is in literal ups and downs. According to a poignant closing note, Gerstein, who died in 2019, left the art for Mack to complete, and in a seamless blend of watercolors and bits of digital collage, the resulting cartoon illustrations have a casual, loose-jointed look perfectly in keeping with the helter-skelter plotline and verbal foolery. After a wild ride, the house hunters hit a tree near the sea (sunny!), and so decide to stay in the upside-down caboose (funny!). Better yet, there on the beach: "Is that a bunny?" Why, yes it is. A sunny, funny valedictory--""with a BUNNY!"

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December 1, 2020

PreS-K-"Moose, Goose, and Mouse had a house," where the roof leaks every time it rains. Patches show on rickety ceilings and walls, and water drips endlessly into anything that holds water: a tub, a pot, a bucket, a boot, or a cup. The house is wet, old, and moldy. All three shiver with cold, wishing earnestly for a sunny, funny house (or even one with a bunny). And so they decide to take a train in the rain to look for a new home. Ink, pencil, and watercolor illustrations on paper and digital collage feature the trio of whimsical cartoon figures in scenes that invite readers to investigate detail and allow questions and inference. The three board a train caboose headed up a steep slope, but suddenly a bow-tied rope connecting the car gives way. Off runs the loose caboose to the right, compelling readers to turn the page. A line of text follows the trio as a creative twist on a normal train ride resembles a roller coaster out of control-visual momentum of text and caboose up and down, up and down, over hill and downhill until movement stops in a sunny, happy place where all feel at home. VERDICT A suggested purchase for all libraries, this title combines rhyming text that encourages identification of words by young readers and invites "all aboard!" for a thrill ride with a gleeful threesome.-Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano I.S.D., TX

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2021
A green moose, a pink mouse, and a blue goose all live in a rickety house. Deciding they've had enough of this dirty and drippy dwelling, they dream up a new home for themselves with some very important criteria: it must be sunny, funny...and have a bunny. A raucous, semi-rhyming journey ensues when "Moose, Goose, and Mouse took a train in the rain to look for a house." Their ride in the caboose (where else?) takes them up and down a series of hills when suddenly -- "ooooops!" -- the caboose comes loose. Much to the animals' surprise, their roller coaster of a train ride helps them find just what they were looking for. Gerstein and Mack's watercolor, ink, and digital collage illustrations come to life through bold colors and thin outlines that reverberate with every wiggle, wobble, bonk, and crash; an appended note by Mack explains their bittersweet collaboration (Gerstein, before his death, asked Mack to complete the work). Simple sentences with predictable structures and plenty of rhyme will both support independent readers and make for comedic read-alouds. Fans of Jan Thomas's picture books and Mo Willems's Elephant and Piggie series will happily befriend this trio of whimsical creatures in their delightfully slapstick adventure.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2021
A green moose, a pink mouse, and a blue goose all live in a rickety house. Deciding they've had enough of this dirty and drippy dwelling, they dream up a new home for themselves with some very important criteria: it must be sunny, funny...and have a bunny. A raucous, semi-rhyming journey ensues when "Moose, Goose, and Mouse took a train in the rain to look for a house." Their ride in the caboose (where else?) takes them up and down a series of hills when suddenly -- "ooooops!" -- the caboose comes loose. Much to the animals' surprise, their roller coaster of a train ride helps them find just what they were looking for. Gerstein and Mack's watercolor, ink, and digital collage illustrations come to life through bold colors and thin outlines that reverberate with every wiggle, wobble, bonk, and crash; an appended note by Mack explains their bittersweet collaboration (Gerstein, before his death, asked Mack to complete the work). Simple sentences with predictable structures and plenty of rhyme will both support independent readers and make for comedic read-alouds. Fans of Jan Thomas's picture books and Mo Willems's Elephant and Piggie series will happily befriend this trio of whimsical creatures in their delightfully slapstick adventure. Grace McKinney

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from December 1, 2020
House-hunting has never been so much fun. Housemates Moose, Goose, and Mouse are in desperate need of a home upgrade; their current abode is wet, cold, and moldy. The pals are set on finding new digs and create a relatively simple list of requirements as guidance: Mouse wants a home that's sunny; Moose wants to live somewhere funny; Goose requires that it come with a bunny. (In this market? Oy vey!) An exploratory train ride is the impetus for a runaway adventure (literally) that leads the threesome to the unexpected home of their dreams. The plot is simple, allowing the rhyming wordplay and illustrations to be the true stars of the show, combining into a sublime reading experience. Young readers who enjoy noodlehead stories and playing with language will delight in the goofy rhymes and zany story. The scratchy cartoon artwork, reminiscent of animator Jay Ward's work on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, enhances the text, the boldly (and singularly) colored characters inhabiting a world with detailed backgrounds that cry out for closer examination. Here's hoping Mack, who oversaw completion of the illustrations after Gerstein's passing according to his concluding note, will be inspired to revisit the characters, as this is a trio readers will hope to meet again and again. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 67% of actual size.) Madcap humor at its finest. (Picture book. 6-8)

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