Book Review: MOO by Sharon Creech

I couldn't be more in love with MOO by Sharon Creech.

When Reena and her family leave the big city and move to a small town in Maine, she isn't quite sure what to think. She and her brother, Luke, enjoy the freedom of exploring that they never got to experience before. Then Reena's parents volunteer her and Luke to work for their mean, eccentric old neighbor, Mrs. Falala, and it seems like their adventuring days are done.

But the truth is, it's an adventure of a different sort, and one Reena never saw coming.

This is a story about change, about becoming something you never thought you would be. It's about moving past a bad first impression to form a real relationship with someone you thought you didn't like. It's about embracing new experiences and the learning and growth that comes with them. It is funny and heartwarming and a little bit sad.

All of this in a concise, lyrical, beautifully written verse novel. Don't miss it!

A WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? Jack-o-lantern!

I'm not such a big fan of Halloween. Though I did take my kids trick-or-treating in homemade costumes every year when they were younger, I've never really decorated my house or yard for the holiday. No skeletons hanging from the front porch. No cemetery or witches or fake corpses in the front yard.

But pumpkin carving is a fun and creative tradition this time of year, even for me. This year, I decided to create a Moose jack-o-lantern. A Moose-o-lantern!

In order to do that, I had to create a template. So, using the illustrations in WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? as a reference, I drew a simple Moose face. Then I did a google search to get an idea of how to make the drawing work as a template. I scanned the image, did some editing on picmonkey.com, and--tada!--my Moose-o-lantern template was complete!

My husband convinced me to use one of those craft pumpkins so that I could keep my Moose-o-lantern forever. So, I reluctantly tried it, and ended up being happy with the result (though, sadly, craft pumpkins don't have any seeds to toast). I'm sure this template would work really well with a real pumpkin too, and might actually be easier to carve.

I think it turned out pretty darn cute, don't you?

If you would like to carve a Moose-o-lantern of your own, you can find the printable template by clicking the image below. Remember to carve out all the black sections. Happy carving!

Click to download template

An Acrostic for October

Because I love October so much, I thought I would dig back through the blog a few years and share this poem with you again. Happy October!

Overhead, the

Canopy of green

Turns to gold, breaks free

On autumn

Breezes,

Escaping before the cold winter

Rush

(c) Rebecca J. Gomez 2010