*Starred Review* Wilfred is a young man with seriousness of purpose (and a bow tie and suspenders), and he owns a moose. Finders keepers, after all. Wilfred explains to his moose, Marcel, all of the rules for being a good pet, but Marcel is impervious to such instructions. Indeed, the pair happens upon a little old lady only to discover that Marcel is actually Rodrigo, and not Wilfred’s moose at all. Wilfred departs, despondent, and gets himself into some trouble, involving a tangle of powder-blue string and the advent of monsters. But the moose shows up to save him, and the two arrive at a new arrangement. Or so it seems . . .
Jeffers composes his trademark painterly cartoon figures atop a variety of backgrounds, including Victorian linotypes and some Serbian landscape paintings (scrupulously sourced). He mashes them together with a bit of intentional pixilation and lots of good cheer, and infuses the mix with remarkable drama, conveying a bevy of emotions with simple gestures and an astute sense of color. The result is a spirited, appealing romp that hums with motley vitality and good-natured humor, certain to induce cheers and groans and chuckles galore. Preschool-Grade 3. --Thom Barthelmess
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