Why Mole Shouted and Other Stories
Kindergarten-Grade 2-Four brief vignettes introduce two appealing characters. In the first, Mole, who never puts anything back where it belongs, keeps losing his glasses. Each time, Grandmother patiently finds them and bends them back into shape. The second story describes how Grandmother makes Mole zip his jacket so that he doesn't catch cold, but she is the one who ends up sick in bed. In the title tale, Mole walks around shouting at the top of his lungs. Grandmother attempts to pinpoint the problem but he isn't tired, hungry, thirsty, or sleepy. She eventually lands on the reason-he just wants to be noticed. The last episode shows Grandmother's creative answers to Mole's repeated question, "Why?" The stories consistently express the love Mole's grandmother feels for him as well as his budding independence balanced by his need for her affection. Throughout, Segal captures the caprice and occasionally challenging nature of young children. The cartoon illustrations have a dreamy, almost surreal quality. The earth-tone palette echoes the characters' underground world. Due to the book's format and the length of the text, this offering is better suited for one-on-one sharing than reading aloud to a group.-Linda M. Kenton, San Rafael Public Library, CACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.