This Moose Belongs to Me

Author & Illustrator:   Oliver Jeffers
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   2012
Location: Knox County Public Library- Halls

Awards:   NYT Best, Irish Book Awards Junior Book of the Year,

Summary:  Wilfred had a pet moose named Marcel  who was pretty good at following the rules of how to be a good pet. Sometimes he wanders away and Wilfred has to follow some string to find their way home, but things are good until they meet up with an old lady. She seems to think Marcel is her moose-- named Rodrigo! But Wilfred corrected her "This moose belongs to Me!" When Marcel doesn't come to him, Wilfred runs away and gets stuck in the woods but eventually here comes Marcel to rescue him. Wilfred realizes that perhaps he didn't really own the moose, but they were still friends. The illustrations are unusual mixed media with beautiful oil paintings for backgrounds and then Jeffers usually sketch style artwork on top.

Classroom Ideas: The theme of this story is one of friendship and maybe an understanding of "ownership."

The Hueys in The New Sweater

Author & Illustrator:   Oliver Jeffers
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   2012
Location: Knox County Public Library- Halls

Awards:   NYT Best Illustrated

Summary:  This was published in the UK as The New Jumper.  The Hueys are little pill shaped creatures with stick arms and legs and they were all the same. Until the day when one of them, Rupert, knitted himself an orange sweater. The other Hueys were shocked because he stood out but his friend Gillespie thought it was interesting so he knitted himself a matching sweater. Soon all the Hueys were knitting sweaters. Then Rupert decides to wear a hat...."And that changed everything."

Classroom Ideas: The theme here is one of nonconformity and individuality. This text could be used as a mentor text for younger children to then write and illustrate their own Huey story (while Jeffers' art is beguiling, the Hueys would be very nonthreatening for children to sketch.) An art teacher could use them to talk about shape and line.

The Way Back Home

Author & Illustrator:   Oliver Jeffers
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   2007
Location: Knox County Public Library- Halls

Awards:   Merit- Bisto Book of the Year Awards

Summary:  A boy finds an airplane in his closet and (although he can't remember putting it there) he goes flying in it. He runs out of gas and gets stuck on the moon, where it is very dark because his flashlight goes out. Meanwhile, a Martian crash lands his space ship onto the moon (which by the way is a crescent), and the two meet. Then work together to figure out ways to get back home. The boy jumps with a parachute into the ocean and swims home. When he gets there, he packs up his backpack and hikes to the top of a mountain where the Martian pulls him back up to the moon with a rope. He fixes the Martian's ship and refuels his plane, the two say goodbye, and head back home. At the end, there's a wordless spread where a package is delivered and perhaps the friendship continues...

Classroom Ideas: There is problem solving here- it's quite ingenious. And, of course, the theme of friendship between two very different "ethnic" groups (is that the word for Earthling and Martian?)

Lost and Found

Author & Illustrator:   Oliver Jeffers
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:    2005
Location: Knox County Public Library- Halls

Awards:   Nestles Smarties Book Prize, Blue Peter Book Award, Kate Greenway Award Shortlist, CBI Book of the Year

Summary:  A boy finds a penguin at his door and thinks he's lost. He looks for the penguin's home and eventually they set off in a rowboat to return him to the South Pole.  They arrive and the boy leaves him there, but eventually he realizes that he misses the penguin. "The penguin had not been lost, just lonely." When the boy goes back to find the penguin, he finds him in an umbrella rowing out to try and meet the boat so the two friends return the boy's home together. The gouache illustrations are gorgeous with vibrant colors (I especially love the storm at sea with all the movement pictured.)

Classroom Ideas: The idea of problem and solution could be explored, as well as the simple plot easily mapped. There are two big themes here: Be sure you understand the problem (hmmm...this could also be tied into math practices in common core-) before you try to solve it and of course friendship and faithfulness.

Up and Down

Author & Illustrator:   Oliver Jeffers
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   2010
Location: Knox County Public Library- Powell

Awards: CBI Book of the Year shortlist,  starred review Kirkus

Summary:  A boy tries to help a penguin in his unsuccessful efforts to fly. He takes him to the zoo to ask for help, but the penguin runs off to join the circus and be a living cannonball. After the two get separated, they both are lonely and unhappy. When the penguin is shot from the cannon, the boy races to the circus in time to catch him. The two friends decide that maybe penguins don't like flying after all and they head home.

Classroom Ideas: The theme of this book revolves around friendship and support. The main characters are strong.

Stuck

Author & Illustrator:   Oliver Jeffers
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   2011
Location: Knox County Public Library- Powell

Awards:   CBI Book of the Year Honor for Illustration, Roald Dahl Funny Prize, Orbil Prize Best Illustrated, School Library Journal & Kirkus starred reviews

Summary:  Floyd's kite is stuck in a tree and his method of getting it out is to throw things at it. Soon, lots of things are stuck in the tree- his shoes, his cat, a ladder, a bucket of paint, the family car, the milkman, an orangutan, a small boat, a big boat, a rhinoceros, a truck, the house across the street, a lighthouse, and a whale! Soon some fire men and a fire truck came driving by- and Floyd threw them up there too. Finally, Floyd throws a saw up in the tree and that's the last bit of room and the kite comes unstuck. When he goes to sleep, he thinks maybe there was something he was forgetting. I adore Jeffer's illustrations and the surreal environment that he creates!

Classroom Ideas: Younger readers will enjoy knowing how to problem solve better than Floyd. There might even be a lesson here on not getting stuck on one way to solve a problem and thinking outside the box.