MOOSE, GOOSE, AND MOUSE

House-hunting has never been so much fun.

Housemates Moose, Goose, and Mouse are in desperate need of a home upgrade; their current abode is wet, cold, and moldy. The pals are set on finding new digs and create a relatively simple list of requirements as guidance: Mouse wants a home that’s sunny; Moose wants to live somewhere funny; Goose requires that it come with a bunny. (In this market? Oy vey!) An exploratory train ride is the impetus for a runaway adventure (literally) that leads the threesome to the unexpected home of their dreams. The plot is simple, allowing the rhyming wordplay and illustrations to be the true stars of the show, combining into a sublime reading experience. Young readers who enjoy noodlehead stories and playing with language will delight in the goofy rhymes and zany story. The scratchy cartoon artwork, reminiscent of animator Jay Ward’s work on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, enhances the text, the boldly (and singularly) colored characters inhabiting a world with detailed backgrounds that cry out for closer examination. Here’s hoping Mack, who oversaw completion of the illustrations after Gerstein’s passing according to his concluding note, will be inspired to revisit the characters, as this is a trio readers will hope to meet again and again. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 67% of actual size.)

Madcap humor at its finest.