Circle Square Moose
By Regan McMahon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
More zany fun as Moose muscles in on book about shapes.
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What's the Story?
Just as he did in Z Is for Moose, buttinsky Moose (with his cat sidekick) just has to interrupt as the narrator identifies shapes and their real-world examples, such as circle and button, sandwich and square. First intrusion: Moose eats the sandwich. "Cute, but this is not an animal book," says the narrator. "It's a shape book. You both have to leave." But they don't. Soon Zebra, the referee from the previous book, shows up and says, "I'll handle this," and chases Moose across the pages, passing examples of shapes along the way (a picture frame, bathroom tile, and a checkers board for square; polka dots, a lollipop, and the sun for circle). Things get really crazy when they fall through a hole into outer space and find the last shape: a star.
Is It Any Good?
CIRCLE SQUARE MOOSE is wild and wacky like the previous Z Is for Moose and reprises some of its characters, such as the queen (who has diamonds in her crown) and the chaos-controlling Zebra. The Moose-Zebra friendship deepens, and underneath all the zaniness, there's solid information about shapes and where we see them in our world.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about shapes. What things in the real world are the shape of a circle, a square, and a triangle?
Are funny books better than serious books? What's a favorite funny book you've read? What made it so good, the story or the character?
Do you know anyone like Moose, who's always acting silly and butting in? Do you like him or her anyway?
Book Details
- Author: Kelly Bingham
- Illustrator: Paul O. Zelinsky
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Friendship, Wild Animals
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Greenwillow Books
- Publication date: September 23, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 8
- Number of pages: 48
- Available on: Hardback
- Last updated: September 25, 2020
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