Looking for a MOOSE

I've been to New Hampshire five times and each time I hope, wish, and actively look to see a moose in the wild.  I've seen moose crossing signs and my hopes get higher.  Each time to be slightly disappointed when I realize another trip has gone by and I haven't spotted a moose.  So, imagine my excitement and overwhelming joy when I found this just right book I could highly connect with!

Looking for a MOOSE by Phyllis Root is hysterical to someone in my situation.  After reading the first two pages, I bought this book to share with my students and my family, without reading more. 


"Have you ever seen a moose -

     a long-leggy moose -
          a branchy-antler,
              dinner-diving,
                  bulgy-nose
                     moose?

"No!  We've never, ever, ever,
   ever, ever seen a moose.
      And we really, really,
           really, really want
               to see a moose."

This book was calling my name.  The children journey through the woods, swamp, bushes, and hillside.  The rhyming and descriptive language is so fun to read!  At times, if I don't watch the rate in which I read, it feels a bit like a tongue twister.   I think this book would be a great example for a writing mentor text too.  You just have to read an example -

"We wade in the swamp -
Squeech squooch!
Squeech squooch! -
the sloppy-gloppy, lily-loppy,
slurpy-glurpy swamp.

I know my young students will be excited to use their picture reading skills to see how illustrator Randy Cecil has placed hidden parts of a moose or two along the journey in the background.  This caused great excitement for my grown up friends I read to on vacation.  The ending of the story is just what I hope to have happen one day. 

Just a quick shout out to a great independent book store I always visit when in New Hampshire, Innisfree Bookshop at Mill Falls Marketplace, Meredith.  They don't have a website or I'd show you a link.  Maybe next time a little photo will have to be taken.