BRAVEMOLE

He was an ordinary mole—digging, tunneling, moving dirt—who loved his family, and was strong, brave, and steady. At times Mole was envious of the Smartmoles, Bigmoles, and Starmoles and he wished he weren’t so ordinary. At bedtime when Babymole wants to have a dragon story read to him, he asks if dragons are real. Mole answers yes, his great-grandmoles had fought them. The next day, when dragons attack the Mountains where Mole works, all moles became Moles Afraid. As the Mountains crumble, Mole knows he has a job to do and he digs and digs, rescuing moles. The other moles dub him “Bravemole.” Now they become Moles All Together, determined to fight dragons to protect all babymoles and to build a world without dragons. Water-soluble crayon illustrations suitably characterize Mole in a red vest and blue helmet with intense blue dominating background scenes. Extremely text-heavy, this will have to be read in a one-to-one sitting and adults should first read it for themselves. Back flap copy contains a message from the author explaining that she wrote the story for children affected by September 11 who need a story to feel safe. On the front flap: “A modern-day fable inspired by the tragedy that honors the extraordinary capacity of ordinary people to make a difference in the world.” Purposeful and honorable. (Picture book. 5-8)