Rock 'n' Roll Mole (review)

Young Mole has all the prerequisites for a future of rock-and-roll stardom: mad guitar skills, cool leather jacket, hip shades, even groupie chicks (who are, naturally, real chicks). Mole's stage fright, however, means that only his best friend, Pig, has actually heard him play. When Pig wants to put on a talent show (he's an awesome dancer), Mole refuses to take part in the performance—until Pig's iPod breaks before the show and he is stuck without music for his dance routine. To rescue his friend, Mole finally musters the courage to pick up that guitar and make it wail on stage. Although the plot and its resolution are as worn as an old 45, wannaberocker Mole is a sympathetic character and the rock-and-roll language makes this amusing to read aloud: "He played and sang like the supersonic, groovelicious rock star that he was, while Pig shimmied and shook his bad pink self." The groupie chicks (three little girl chicks who adoringly follow Mole around) and references to Mole's idols (Mick Badger, Moo 2, and Goose Springsteen) also add humor to the text. Munsinger's signature cute critters (rendered in watercolor, pen and ink, and colored pencil) are appealingly kidlike in their stature and dress, and the pudgy, pink-nosed Mole is particularly endearing, whether ducking his head shyly as the chicks swoon over him or pumping his pink-nailed fist on stage. It's not often you find a book that will satisfy both young Guitar Hero fans with dreams of stardom and lovers of adorable animals who wear clothes—this one just might.