This Moose Belongs to Me

It won’t take readers long to see that Wilfred has moose problems. He tries hard to make Marcel the moose obey his many rules (“Rule 7 [subsection b]: Maintaining a certain proximity to home”), but Marcel is only vaguely interested in Wilfred. What he really likes are apples. Wilfred’s role as moose owner is further cast into doubt when a random old lady greets Marcel as Rodrigo. “You’re back!” she cries. (Marcel reacts warmly, but only because she has an apple.) Eventually, Wilfred is able to recognize Marcel’s independence; it’s a useful and unexpectedly heartwarming lesson in lowered expectations. Nervous Wilfred is dressed in a geeky bowtie and suspenders, while Marcel is the size of a garden shed, with antlers like towel racks. What really ups the ante are Jeffers’s (Stuck) incongruously grandiose backdrops. Wilfred’s struggle plays out against dawn-kissed mountain ranges, brooding spruces, and sweeping American plains, giving the proceedings an air of faux-solemn dignity that’s hilariously at odds with Wilfred’s dorky personality. The moose may not belong to Wilfred, but the laughs certainly belong to Jeffers. Ages 3–7. (Nov.)