WHAT ABOUT MOOSE?

Fox and friends have plans to build a treehouse, but bossy Moose keeps interfering

Cooperation is the keyword for Fox and her hardworking co-builders. Unfortunately, Moose thinks he is the most knowledgeable, and he is certainly the bossiest. With a megaphone, he shouts out orders but does not lend a hand. He criticizes, exhorts, advises, and then collapses from the sheer exhaustion of being in charge. Neither Skunk nor Porcupine nor Toad nor Fox measure up to his standards of Moose excellence. Then the walls are completed, and the roof is put in place—but where is Moose? Sharp-eyed readers will see what has happened: Moose is inside the newly completed treehouse and too big to exit through the door. The friends cleverly come to his rescue, and Moose happily learns his lesson. Schwartz and Gomez have crafted a pleasant tale in rhyming couplets about working together, pitching in, and planning ahead. The digitally rendered illustrations are colorful and full of activity as animals clad in work clothes tote tool boxes, measure, lift beams, nail, caulk, drill, and construct. The almost perfectly round Toad alone, clad in pink overalls and safety goggles, with a tiny yellow hard hat perched atop, is practically worth the price of admission.

Gentle humor successfully communicates the importance of teamwork to young readers.