[.ca] If You Give a Moose a Muffin (ISBN 0060244062)

From Amazon.com:
"If you give a moose a muffin, he'll want some jam to go with it." So begins the most logical silliness to be found anywhere--at least since Laura Joffe Numeroff and illustrator Felicia Bond's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Readers will follow a young boy and his voracious visitor through a series of antlered antics: jam reveries and puppet shows and big messes. It all makes perfect sense, really, once you stop to think about it. What moose wouldn't want to borrow a sweater when it's cold outside? And why shouldn't the loose button on the sweater remind him of his grandmother? Bond's cleverly detailed, witty illustrations perfectly complement Numeroff's deadpan style. Through just a few deft words and brush strokes, the reader gets a real sense of the unique personalities of the two characters. Children will relate easily to the full-circle reasoning of the story, while picking up the concept of cause and effect. The moral of the story? Keep plenty of muffin mix and blackberry jam in your cupboard. You never know who may drop by. (Great read aloud, ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

A very fun book! Get the whole series!:
Moose/Muffin is our favorite of this "If You Give a (?) a (?)" series of books, but the other two, Mouse/Cookie and Pig/Pancake, are just as good jumping-off points for clever stories of wandering attention, imagination, curiosity, and the sheer joy of play. From an adult-critique standpoint, I think Laura Joffe Numeroff's story in this one was the most clever, scene to scene. All the shifts in focus make perfect sense, if you view the moose as personified the moment the kid tosses him the muffin, and never have too large a shift in the scope of the action. It's absurdly funny to have an animal the size of a moose at play like a child in the house. My favorite illustration is of the moose and the kid -- probably a boy but not altogether clear, so she's a girl for my daughters -- painting the scenery for the puppet show. (Confused? Buy it and read it.) Felicia Bond is very gifted in conveying body language and movement in her characters, and her complex cartoon drawings are delightful all around. Now this may seem like an obvious point, but a real moose is a very dangerous animal, so parents must instruct their very literal-minded small children that real wild animals are dangerous, and that stories like this are funny pretend stories -- can you say "metaphor" sweetie? You can imagine a friendly moose, but never go up to a real one. There are thousands of kids' stories with personified animals, so this is not a new thought to most adults, but sometimes it's hard for us to remember that *everything* is new to small children. Our daughters enjoy all three, though I haven't seen Mouse/Cookie surface for a while, so I'll have to dig it out and read it to the 20-month-old. She loves Pig/Pancake and this one. Our older daughter (4.5) treasured all three beginning at her sister's age, and now uses them to really look at and read the words that she already knew by heart. These are great books. Enjoy with them!

If You Give a Moose a Muffin:
In this book theres a moose that smells a muffin from a nearby house. He gets into the house and trys to get a muffin. The kid gives him a muffin and the moose keeps asking for more and more things to go with it. After the moose has had enough the whole house is a mess. I would recommend this book to anyone of any age. This book is suprising and interesting. This book teaches you not to give a moose a muffin unless you know hes not going to want anything to go with it.

Great book for kids:
My niece who is 3 can't get enough of this! She loves that moose. Very cute and also fun for adults, doesn't get tiresome like some do.

If you give a moose a muffin.:
If you give a moose a muffin is about a big moose that smells some muffins from a nearby house. He gets into the kids house and wants a muffin. When he gets the muffin he starts asking for something to go with it, then he starts to want more things in the house until it is a big mess. This book teaches you that it is nice to make friends and have them over, but sometimes it can get a little messy. This book is for ages 4 and up. It is a really good and funny book.

Favorite Children's Story:
I have loved this book ever since I first read it. I give it as a present to every child in my family. They all love it too! As a teacher, I would recommend this book highly. Great illustrations are a bonus.