Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee
Kindergarten-Grade 2—In his third outing, hapless Mr. Magee and his dog take up skiing. They decide to do a practice run close to home on a "great little hill with a view of the bay." As soon as he takes off, Mr. Magee realizes he doesn't know how to steer or stop. They are heading toward a very large moose who is too stunned to obey the polite request to step aside. Man and dog both duck and slide under the animal and between his legs. The skis snag on a log and man and dog upend over a ravine. Their skis form a bridge across the ravine and the moose uses this opportunity to get to the other side. His weight makes the skis sag and when he leaps off, they spring and flip Mr. Magee again, landing him on solid ground. He and his dog decide that skiing lessons are necessary and return home. The gouache illustrations are clean, crisp, and colorful. Various shades of blue, green, and purple nicely show the chill of the winter day. The rhyming text, with occasional bolded words, scans easily. Fans of Mr. Magee will feel at home with this one.—Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI(c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.