If You Give a Moose a Muffin

Amazon.com Review "If you give a moose a muffin, he'll want some jam to go with it." So begins the most logical silliness to be found anywhere--at least since Laura Joffe Numeroff and illustrator Felicia Bond's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Readers will follow a young boy and his voracious visitor through a series of antlered antics: jam reveries and puppet shows and big messes. It all makes perfect sense, really, once you stop to think about it. What moose wouldn't want to borrow a sweater when it's cold outside? And why shouldn't the loose button on the sweater remind him of his grandmother? Bond's cleverly detailed, witty illustrations perfectly complement Numeroff's deadpan style. Through just a few deft words and brush strokes, the reader gets a real sense of the unique personalities of the two characters. Children will relate easily to the full-circle reasoning of the story, while picking up the concept of cause and effect. The moral of the story? Keep plenty of muffin mix and blackberry jam in your cupboard. You never know who may drop by. (Great read aloud, ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter Product Description If a big hungry moose comes to visit, you might give him a muffin to make him feel at home. If you give him a muffin, he'll want some jam to go with it. When he's eaten all your muffins, he'll want to go to the store to get some more muffin mix... In this hilarious sequel to the beloved If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, the young host is again run ragged by a surprise guest. Young readers will delight in the comic complications that follow when a little boy entertains a gregarious moose. The If You Give... series is a perennial favorite among children. With its spare, rhythmic text and circular tale, these books are perfect for beginning readers and story time. Sure to inspire giggles and requests to "read it again!" Other favorites in Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond's bestselling series include: If You Give a Cat a Cupcake If You Give a Dog a Donut If You Give a Mouse a Cookie If You Give a Pig a Pancake If You Give a Pig a Party From Publishers Weekly In this sequel to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie , the complexities that can follow a simple act of kindness are played out with the same rampant silliness as in the previous book. The dilemma here is of a different dimension--a moose, after all, will almost always be a bigger problem than a mouse--but the collaborators maintain the same jolly mood. And what happens when you give a moose a muffin? He asks for jam, of course, and when he's finished eating all the muffins, he'll want you to make more. That entails a trip to the store. Of course the moose would like to go, but he may need to borrow a sweater; he might notice a button is loose, in which case he'll require a needle and thread. Numeroff and Bond have another clear winner--the drawings of the goofy moose sashaying around the house as his small host struggles to keep up with his demands make for great fun. Ages 3-7. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal PreSchool-Grade 1-- From the first toss of a muffin to the final behind-the-couch scene in which the day's activities culminate in a messy array and the story comes full circle, readers gladly follow a moose and a young boy in this lively tale. Much as she did in If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (HarperCollins, 1985), Numeroff presents the energetic sequence of events in stream-of-consciousness fashion. Here the action principally involves putting on a puppet show, from the creation of sock puppets and scenery through cleanup time, making this title more cohesive than its predecessor. An added dimension this time is the mother, who figures in several illustrations but not in the text, blithely oblivious to all the goings-on. The text provides just the right springboard for Bond's distinct, pen-and-ink and watercolor drawings. The moose is a riot. He is at once dainty and exuberant with a heartwarming, ever-smiling face. Even