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Reviewed by:
  • This Moose Belongs to Me
  • Jeannette Hulick
Jeffers, Oliver . This Moose Belongs to Me; written and illus. by Oliver Jeffers. Philomel, 2012. 32p. ISBN 978-0-399-16103-2 $16.99 R 5-7 yrs.

When a moose shows up one day, Wilfred claims it as his own, names it Marcel, and proceeds to outline the rules for proper moose-as-pet behavior as he describes his enjoyable life with Marcel. He's displeased to discover that he's not Marcel's only owner: an old lady, spying the moose, is overjoyed at the return of her beloved "Rodrigo." Wilfred leaves their scene of reunion in a fit of pique only to get tangled up in string (always used on his wanders as a guide back home) and lies helpless until the moose scoops him up with his antlers (a side effect, though Wilfred doesn't know it, of the moose's retrieval of a tasty apple from the ground). Jeffers' telling of this offbeat pet story is wonderfully droll and succinct, with comic irony between text and art: Wilfred's textual description of Marcel's reaction to the rules contrasts with art that makes it clear the moose is happily indifferent, going about his everyday business while Wilfred follows him around. The art—"made from a mishmash of oil painting onto old linotype and painted landscapes, and a bit of technical wizardry thrown in the mix here and there"—is striking and unusual; the brushy texture of slightly translucent brown oil paint effectively conjures the look of moose fur, and the large-headed Wilfred with his single swirl of hair looks a bit like a more confident, bow-tied Charlie Brown. Speech and thought bubbles are used to humorous effect as well, containing humorous images more often than words. The final page provides one last laugh as the moose approaches an old man who exclaims, "Dominic, you're back!"

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