THE STUFFIE STAND

An entrepreneurial moose learns a lesson in asking for help.

Moose has long harbored an all-encompassing love for plush toys. Having perfected the art of creating them, he opens his very own Stuffie Stand to overwhelming success. One of his best customers, a pale-skinned, bespectacled little girl named Mabel, is so enthused that she confides that she, too, creates stuffies, though hers are bedazzled with accessories and more. Moose is skeptical and shuts her down when she asks to sell her wares at his shop. Moose is happy to go it alone until it soon becomes clear that he’s in over his head. Not only do the orders overwhelm him, but he’s developed a clear case of dreaded “noodle arms” (“He couldn’t pick anything up. He couldn’t put anything together”). Will Mabel accept his plea and come to his aid? Frost peppers her eye-catching, bright cartoon art with sly details and wry imaginings; she conveys annoyance, for example, in as little as a half-lidded glance. Characters and their orders are fulfilled by the story’s end. Meanwhile, Moose’s emotional turnaround runs the gamut from self-centered individualism to an eventual understanding of the importance of both community and friendship.

Capitalism meets altruism, and the results are magic.