Wilfred is an organised young lad. He wants Marcel to be the best pet a pet can be, so he sets about creating a series of RULES that will help this large creature be - well, perfect.
One day, on a long walk, discussing all the exciting things the pair would get up to in the coming year - like riding rapids together - the duo come across an old lady. Who claims the moose is hers. She calls him Rodrigo.
Wilfred totally freaks out. "This moose belongs to me!" he explains.
But the moose seems to prefer the old lady. Mortified, Wilfred rushes home, only to trip and fall and become entangled. Just when he thinks he's going to be fodder for the monsters-after-dark, the moose turns up.
Is he really Wilfred's moose after all?
My goodness, talk about a dry, burst-out-loud-laughter ending. The superlative Jeffers has really nailed it in this book, but not only the storyline and wordage. His glorious imagery - the look on Wilfred's face, the nonchalance of the moose - are so beautifully portrayed, you will be permanently poised between gasping and giggling.
I also simply MUST make mention of the landscape illustrations. In this beautiful book, you can absolutely expect the typical, kooky, iconic people and critters, but in This Moose Belongs To Me, get set for some truly divine landscape images that will take your breath away.
I particularly adore the very first landscapes that have been given a textural overlay that mimics those old scratchy 3D images we used to see on the front covers of books when we were children; remember those? Curiously, this texture disappears from images later in the book - much to my disappointment - but the untextured images will hardly disappoint.
Gorgeous gorgeous - all the way round and back again. And I want that moose.
Title: This Moose Belongs to Me
Author/Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers
Publisher: HarperCollins, $24.99 RRP
Publication Date: 1 September 2012
Format: Hard cover with dust jacket
ISBN: 9780007263875
For ages: 4 - 10
Type: Picture Book
