It's a moose by Meg Rosoff, illustrated by David Ercolini

The story begins with a hospital ward and round-headed babies of all colors and... species? His older sibling is thrilled with their new baby - after all, how many people get to take home a baby moose? They dress him in baby clothes, play with him, and hang things on his antlers. Relatives see how his nose looks just like "great-aunt Lydia." His older sibling takes him to school for show and tell and the other kids are impressed too! But soon they begin to have issues. Their baby moose isn't a baby anymore. He's outgrowing everything, including the house, and maybe even his family?

Finally, they pack him up and take a long journey to the mountains. When they arrive, the baby moose is finally happy. He meets other moose and enjoys the fresh air and open country. Sadly, the family waves goodbye and leaves him, and his packs, in the wilderness. But later that week, they get a happy postcard and know their moose is finally where he belongs.

The art is all lines and cartoonish angles, with the majority of the characters portrayed as white. The older sibling has short, straight brown hair and often wears a jumper and leggings. There is a little bit of a 1960s vibe to the story and art, especially with the maternity ward, but there are some people of color shown in the story and one kid in the sibling's class is in a wheelchair.

This was kind of funny, even though the story and art didn't really appeal to me, but I disliked the solution. It was great that the moose's family was so accepting of him and his differences... until they drove out and dumped him in the woods. The implication being, it's all well and good to be different when you're little, but once those differences start getting bigger, you have to be only with people just like you. This is a pretty common thing I've seen in picture books, but it never fails to annoy me. Why didn't the book end with the whole family moving to a midway point as a compromise? Or making accommodations for the moose in their home? Or making their new home in the forest?

Verdict: Aside from my critique from an adult perspective, this is a tongue-in-cheek, dry humor kind of book and kids who enjoy that will find this hilarious.

ISBN: 9780399166648; Published April 2020 by Putnam; Review copy provided by publisher