MOUSESTACHE MOOSESTACHE

A mouse and a moose lead readers on a nonsensical mustache-filled romp.

Mousestache and Moosestache each sport a neat, slightly curved mustache, and they aren’t the only ones. The two enter a mustache-packed reality where facial hair can be seen adorning just about everyone and everything, from grandfather clocks and mountains to shrimp and houses. Everywhere you look, there’s a mustache! Snappy vocabulary and wordplay shine. Every phrase or sentence ends with stache, making for a rhyming read-aloud with an infectious beat: “Peppermint planestaches. Daydreaming brainstaches. Passenger trainstaches. Wee drops of rainstaches.” “Tropical fruitstaches dancing in bootstaches. Some strumming lutestaches. Others toot flutestaches.” As the day passes, Mousestache and Moosestache drive “truckstaches,” row in “boatstaches,” and parachute alongside carrots and radishes. It all culminates in a delightfully silly ending. The mustaches depicted are relatively uniform in terms of shape, but they vary widely in color, size, and placement. Readers will love poring over Watkins’ scratchy, scribbly artwork to find them all; the experience will encourage them to think flexibly and find the shapes hidden throughout. With lots of animals, different types of vehicles, and goofy action, the book offers ample opportunity for interaction.

A hilariously odd storytime pick.