I live in Alaska and am no longer surprised to find a moose staring in the front window at me. Heck, I've even been to the Talkeetna Train Station/Depot where Finley's story begins. Haven't seen an moose, friendly or not, trying to sneak onto the caboose but I'll be looking for Finley next time I'm there. One of the images that came to mind as I read was one I've seen of a line of moose lined out on the railroad tracks, the train behind it being forced to stop as the moose clung to the tracks to avoid the deep snow to either side.
With bright, colorful illustrations, children will enjoy not just the whimsy of Finley's various disguise attempts but some peeks of Alaska itself in the backdround. I can envision parents reading the story with their children and all wondering aloud what disguise Finley might try next and why it might or might not work. My only qualm about the book was that I wish a subtle caution to all that in real life, moose are not friendly critters and not to try petting one. Maybe Finley could work it in as "unlike my other moose friends who want people to stay far away, I'm a friendly moose and won't hurt you." Let's just say, people here in Alaska (and, I'm sure, elsewhere) get trampled or even killed by moose, so while I enjoyed the fantasy of a friendly moose being helpful to humans, Not all moose are like Finley.
Okay, that's my public service message of the day. Aside from the concern, this illustrated children's story was a hit. Thanks #NetGalley and #GnomeRoadPublishing for introducing me to Finley and bringing back some fun memories of visits to the Talkeetna area. I may name one of my next moose visitors Finley.
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