Mr. Squirrel and the Moon

by Sebastian Meschenmoser

Overview

Winter 2015 Top Ten IndieNext Pick When Mr. Squirrel awakens to find that the moon has landed on his tree, he frantically tries to get rid of it before someone suspects him of stealing it and puts him in jail. But when he rolls the moon off of his tree, it's gets stuck on Mrs. Hedgehog's bristles and when the billy-goat arrives and butts it with his horns . . . Will the moon ever be the same again? Sebastian Meschenmoser's hilarious illustrations and rollicking tale will be a bedtime favorite.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735841567
Publisher:	NorthSouth Books
Publication date:	01/01/2015
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	710,915
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sebastian Meschenmoser was born in Frankfurt am Main in 1980. He has been studying Fine Arts in Mainz since 2001.With „Learning how to Fly” he published his first book with Esslinger in 2005. This very special gift book has received a lot of attention in

Editorial Reviews

10/27/2014
Meschenmoser’s story opens as a wheel of yellow cheese rolls off its wagon, hurtles off a cliff, and lands on a branch outside a squirrel’s home. In the same sort of misidentification that drove Meschenmoser’s Waiting for Winter, Mr. Squirrel concludes that the yellow cheese is the moon, and worries that he’ll be fingered as its thief: “He’d be arrested and thrown in prison.” A silent spread pictures the squirrel’s fears with mordant humor as he appears in a small prison uniform, reflecting remorsefully as his human cellmate works on a piece of embroidery. (Further inspection reveals a miniature squirrel-sized latrine along the back wall.) The action heats up as a hedgehog, billy goat, and crew of mice join the fray (further crowding the imaginary prison cell of the conscience-stricken squirrel) until they can work out how to put the cheese back where it belongs. Meschenmoser’s soft pencil portraits of the squirrel’s inner fears teeter right at the sweet spot between anguish and humor. The story’s deepest pleasure comes from the contrast between its ever-more-ridiculous scenarios and the artist’s solemn, classically proportioned drafting style. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"As this book proves, squirrels, jail sequences, and edible heavenly bodies make for picture book gold. Delicious...if I had my way every Caldecott would go to Sebastian Meschmenmoser, regardless of citizenship or whether or not he has a book out in a given year."-Fuse #8 Production/School Library Journal, Elizabeth Bird

"The beautifully surreal artwork perfectly complements this whimsical, original fairy tale..."- Midwest Book Review

"Meschenmoser’s soft pencil portraits of the squirrel’s inner fears teeter right at the sweet spot between anguish and humor. The story’s deepest pleasure comes from the contrast between its ever-more-ridiculous scenarios and the artist’s solemn, classically proportioned drafting style."-Publishers Weekly

"This makes a good choice for story hours or one-on-one sharing."-Booklist, Kay Weisman

From the Publisher

12/01/2014
K-Gr 2—This story starts before the title page and won't make sense if readers skip these early pages. Wordless drawings depict a large wheel of cheese falling from a farmer's cart and rolling off a cliff. The next morning, Mr. Squirrel discovers what he thinks is the moon perched on a branch of his tree. Worried that he might be arrested if someone finds him with what must surely be a stolen item, he gets rid of the moon by pushing it off the branch. Unfortunately, it lands on Mrs. Hedgehog and gets stuck on her back. A billy goat comes along and butts the moon with his horns and charges a tree. The goat spends the night attached to both the moon and the tree with the hedgehog still dangling. The next morning some bees and mice, obviously realizing the round yellow object is edible, munch away until it is just a sliver. The goat and hedgehog are freed, and the animals slingshot the moon back into the sky where they hope it will recover its original shape. The story is told in a wry, matter-of-fact style. The illustrations are mostly black and white sketches that contrast with the bright yellow cheese/moon. The book's droll sense of humor is marred, however, by three spreads that presumably come from the worried squirrel's imagination. These dark pictures of a man in jail are downright creepy and ruin the playful tone of the story. Readers should use their judgment when sharing this book with children.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT

School Library Journal

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