Surprise Bundle of Joy! It's A Moose! by Meg Rosoff

The nursery was all ready for the new little bundle of joy, with crib and mobile, a rocking horse, teddy bear, rack-a-stack, and cute onesie pajamas and little blue suspender suits.

WE WERE EXPECTING THE USUAL SORT OF BABY, SO IMAGINE OUR SURPRISE!


HE HAD FOUR PERFECT HOOVES INSTEAD OF FEET.

When she's taken to see the new arrival at the hospital nursery, the little girl carries a balloon that says "IT'S A MOOSE."

And a baby moose in a diaper is darling. She falls in love with the new family member.

I FELT SORRY FOR THE OTHER BABIES.

THEY ALL LOOKED THE SAME!

Grandma observes that he has the same nose as her Great-Aunt Lydia!

But there are some unusual problems. When they take the baby out in his buggy, people tend to point and stare. He outgrows his baby clothes in no time, and before long they have to get a bigger car with a sun roof to accommodate his long neck and antlers when they go to the drive-through. He doesn't fit the furniture in the house, and from the dormer window upstairs, he begins to sing sad songs nightly under the moon.

So the family packs the car with provisions and heads north... way up NORTH... to the NORTH WOODS actually, where the moose soon finds another moose to play with. He sings a happy song.

AT LAST IT WAS TIME TO SAY GOODBYE.

And soon the family gets a post card from Moosie....

Dear Mom and Dad + Sis,
Having a wonderful time. Wish you were here.
XXX

Meg Rosoff's It's a Moose! (Putnam, 2020) is a book that grownups won't be able to wait to read aloud and kid will want to read over and over! It's fanciful and funny and sweet, and filled with charming illustrations by artist David Ercolini. Ercolini's carefully-drawn, double-page spreads of the hospital nursery, the baby's room at home, and Moosie's birthday party--with the moose antler ring-toss and Pin the Tail on the Moose game and the young guests in antlered party hats--will keep young readers giggling at each comic detail with each page turn. This one is a real winner for the primary set, a joy for all. Says Publishers Weekly, "Rosoff begins with a goofy what-if . . . but deepens their story into something much more: one about how loving families stick together, embrace radical acceptance, and know when to let go."