Photographer/naturalist Skye paints an unabashedly endearing picture of a friendship between a young moose and an old horse.
The basic outline is a true story: a wild yearling moose that the citizenry of Groton, Vt. named Mary, and a 20-year-old Welch Cob mare (named Little Bit), enjoyed each others’ company enough to share pasture and barn space. Mary, who had been orphaned, trundled into the Northeast Kingdom town one day and evidently found it amenable–she snacked on herbaceous delicacies and the church lawn before joining with Little Bit when the stream that Mary enjoyed led past Bit’s grazing ground. Upon this foundation Skye embellishes a tale of improbable friendship, of the surprising turn that animal instinct can take (and what it has to teach us), amidst the abiding beauty of the Green Mountain State’s northern reaches. Older readers will understand Skye’s exploration of loneliness and loss, and kids will best appreciate the sections imbued with a fairy tale quality: “The chickadees sang and the pine squirrels chattered and played, and Mary ate leaves and twigs from the bushes along the riverbank.” The story, accompanied by wildlife photographs, is simplistic, sentimental and infused with spiritual overtones. Skye reveals an intimate portrait of the two creatures comfortably hanging out together, surrounded by Vermont’s natural beauty.
A light parable of peace, well suited to a time of widespread hatemongering.