Review by Booklist Review
"When our new baby arrived, he had velvety soft skin and big brown eyes. He ate twigs and weeds." Unconditional acceptance forms the central theme in this droll tale of a doting (human) family that coos over its newest (hooved!) member in the maternity ward and then wheels him home to feed, dress, and fuss over. Moosie does grow, though, as moose do, and so when he becomes too big for the house, they venture into the wilderness to hook him up with a four-legged friend. (The first postcard arrives a week later.) Though the startled expressions of neighbors and passersby in Ercolini's bright, neatly drawn cartoon illustrations turn into a sort of running joke, most everyone from maternity ward staff to the teachers and children in school just take Moosie in stride. It doesn't require much insight to see Moosie as a stand-in for any child with physical (or other) differences, but rather than exploit the metaphor, Rosoff and the illustrator are content to stop with the very first step of all.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The new baby is adorable, but unlike the rest of his human family, he's also a moose--with tiny antlers, a big brown nose, and "four perfect hooves." Nevertheless, the family's love is instant and unconditional: "I felt sad for the other babies. They all looked the same," says the narrator, his older sister, as they leave the hospital. When passersby stare and point, she asserts, "they wish they had a baby like ours." But unconditional love also means doing what's best for their "baby" when the growing moose can no longer live a human life--when the house begins to feel too small, and the creature sings sad songs night after night. In a circuitous route across a double spread, the family travels to the mountainous woods, and after sniffing and tasting the new place, the moose gallops away with a new moose friend. Rosoff (the McTavish series) and Ercolini (Not Inside This House!) start with a goofy what-if--the improbable digitized tempera vignettes and the moose's Harpo-like reactions are designed to elicit giggles--but deepen their story into something much more: one about how loving families stick together, embrace radical acceptance, and know when to let go. Ages 3--7. (Apr.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Moose in the forest or moose in the zoo are OK, but a moose in the house?Baby's room is all ready for the new sibling, but, as Sis tells the story, the baby has a few differences from other newborns in the hospital. He has "velvety soft skin and big brown eyes." His diet is a little different, his nose is a lot bigger, and so are his feet. Nonetheless, he is loved and nurtured. Neighbors are jealous, and classmates all want "a moose baby." As happens with babies, this one grows, but his growth is astonishing. Toys, bathtubs, and finally the house itself shrink in size by comparison. Reluctantly, the family maps out a trip to a forest where their (enormous) baby moose finds an inviting environment and new friends of his own sort. He does send his love in a postcard. Rosoff's little tale of interspecies family love should bring a laugh or two to young readers, juxtaposing as it does the absurdity of a very large member of the deer family residing in a human abode. Ercolini's cartoon illustrations convey this quite aptly with their emphasis on height and an elongated perspective. The softly hued colors are inviting and feature people of various shades and a moose of brown hide and yellow antlers (the human members of the moose's family of origin are white). A lesson in animal care told with love and humor. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
