Moose Tracks!

by Karma Wilson, Jack E. Davis (Illustrator)

There are moose tracks on the back porch . . .
in the kitchen . . .
in the den . . .
There are moose tracks EVERYWHERE!
Who left all these moose tracks?

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Storytime, Childrens, Humor, Mystery, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 28, 2006

About the author

Karma Wilson grew up an only child of a single mother in the wilds of North Idaho. Way back then (just past the stone age and somewhat before the era of computers) there was no cable TV and if there had been Karma could not have recieved it. TV reception was limited to 3 channels, of which one came in with some clarity. Karma did the only sensible thing a lonely little girl could do…she read or played outdoors.

Playing outdoors was fun, but reading was Karma’s “first love” and, by the age 11, she was devouring about a novel a day. She was even known to try to read while riding her bike down dirt roads, which she does not recommend as it is hazardous to the general well being of the bike, the rider, and more importantly the book. Her reading preferences were fantasy (C.S. Lewis, Terry Brooks, etc…) and historical fiction (L.M. Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, etc…). Those tastes have not changed much.

Karma never considered writing as a profession because her mother was a professional writer which made it seem like mundane work. At the age of 27 she realized that she still loved well-written children’s books of all kinds, from picture books to young adult novels. By that time Karma was a wife and the mother of three young children. Trips to the library with her kids were a combination of emotions…a good book meant fun for all! But so many of the books weren’t what her children wanted to listen to.

Then a tax refund changed everything. With the money the family decided to invest in a computer. Karma was forced to learn to type. Combining her desire to make the expensive computer pay for itself, her new-found typing skill, and her love of children’s literature, Karma started writing for children. She wanted to put a few more good books on the library shelves and pay off that computer! Countless rejections and three years later Karma was finally accepted by book agent Steven Malk (who had already rejected her once, which she never lets him forget). Her first book, Bear Snores On, was released in 2002. The computer was paid for!

Since then Karma has had more than 30 books accepted for publication. Many of those are on the shelves of libraries and bookstores around the world. Her books have received numerous state and national awards, been translated into dozens of languages, and a few have made an appearance on the New York Times bestseller list. Karma sincerely hopes that her books bring joy to children and families everywhere.

Karma writes humorous, rhythmic picture books for the very young, and humorous and wistful poetry for the primary grades.

These days Karma lives with her handsome husband Scott, and her three not-so-young-anymore children, two dogs, two chickens and one cat on some modest but lovely acreage in NW Montana. Her hobbies include reading (of course), photography, baking, yoga, and a passion for Mixed Martial Arts.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute and funny, but so predictable it becomes a bit tedious getting to the inevitable ending.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

We LOVE Karma Wilson in my house!! My 2 year old and I really enjoyed most of this book, but the ending came very abruptly and was a little disappointing.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly and fun, animal lovers will get a kick out of this story! Rhyming text and fun illustrations make this a good group read aloud.

[Brittaney Ellis]

Text-to-teacher

With this story, I instantly thought about the activity I would do with the class. I would do a scavenger hunt. I would tie science into it. I'd put little clues around the class and let them use magnifying glasses to help find things that would help us answer a question. Children love to be able to use the classroom to explore and play make believe. I think they would really love to do a scavenger hunt inside.

[Ralf Urbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the incorporation of animals. Very colorful illustrations and i really took notice to all of the different ways the animals expressed themselves. My children laughed all through this book and one of the books that we had to keep coming back to read over and over again. Another great rhyming book that sticks with the children.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Protagonist in the story is trying to solve the mystery of all the moose tracks throughout his house. He can account for the bear hair, goose feathers, chipmunk tracks, and an assortment of other tracks, but for the life of him, he can't remember having a moose in his house.

[Stacia Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun read! Cute illustrations.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who do you think left all the moose tracks? In this book, the narrator is trying to find who left moose tracks all over his home. He remembers certain things that happened with the other animals in his home but nothing about a moose. After examining the situation, the end is a shocking and silly surpire. The major themes in the book were self accountability and curiosity. For the first theme of self accountability was represented through the author hiding that the narrator was the moose all along. The moose was examining everyone but himself, making the process of finding the culprit much slower. For the second theme, the author displays the theme of curiosity by creating a mystery we have to solve. Both of these themes encourage children to be curious but also humble. The main genre of this book is mystery fiction. Through reading this book, children reading this book could learn to question things and be critical thinkers while also considering themselves instead of only accusing others of a problem. This book was a WOW book for me because it was a silly book that reminded me of something I would read as a young child. The author used multiple literary devices and other forms of writing craft in this book. First, the author used the writing craft technique of repetition. An example of this writing craft from this book is when the author repeatedly asked the question “...but who left all these moose tracks?”. This writing craft technique enhanced the quality of the book by leaving the reader more and more anticipated for the reveal at the end of the book.
Second, the author used the writing craft technique of rhymes. An example of this writing craft from this book is when the author used ABCB rhymes throughout the story. This writing craft technique enhanced the quality of the book by making it more catchy and fun to read along. I would consider this book to be an anti-bias book because it does not imply any stereotypes of characters and encourages children to look inwards when suspecting a problem.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are moose tracks all over the narrator's home! The narrator knows what happened to the guest bed frame (Beaver stayed the night), and how feathers got on the carpet (Goose was over for some dancing). But how did moose tracks get all over?

This was cleverly done. It would be a fun mystery picture book to read aloud to kids and have them guess who got moose tracks all over the house. It's also done in rhyme so it is a catchy read, and the illustrations lend a note of levity to the tale.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are moosetracks all over the house and the narrator has no idea where they are from. He does know they weren't there last night, so how did they get there. The narrator retraces all the other things in and about the house, and remembers which friend is responsible for what. But who made these moose tracks?

The ending was a surprise, and this would make a good mystery for little ones to try and solve.

[Kyler Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Students will get a kick out of this book as the main character traces their steps to find out where these moose track came from, only to remeber that he is a moose. The incorperation of animals is great for young readers and older students will have fun with the silliness of the book.

[Fourth Grade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is funny and kids will probably be very surprised at the end like I was! :) This book is full of laughter, giggles, and fun and I totally recommend this book for probably the ages of 5-8

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for Letter M themed storytime January 15, 2019 - this went pretty well, even though most of the kiddos did not get the joke at the end. They loved the pictures and the moose tracks everywhere throughout the book, though. (Read with Mouse Mess)

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very cute story about moose tracks. Where did they come from? There are many other animals throughout the story, but where did the moose tracks (which are everywhere ... up curtains, on walls, on furniture, etc.) come from? Very cute.

[Travis Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars copyright 2006 fantasy. Theme expect the unexpected. Favorite part about the book was at the very end where you find out it WAS a moose the whole time. I would use this in the classroom to illustrate my students about subverting expectations.

[Concetta Kellough · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's obvious by the end where the story is headed (the narrator who lives in the house where the tracks are is the moose), but children the age the book is intended (pre-K-K) for may be surprised by the ending.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jack E. Davis' illustrations ... so much to see. Students will love the surprise ending.

[Milton Louie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who is leaving these tracks? B

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better for 4-5 yr olds than 2-3

[Gretchen Oates · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping to use this for my mystery genre read aloud but was disappointed. Maybe I missed something, but I thought the dog was the narrator so I didn’t get the “surprise” ending.

[Michaela McClain-Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute book

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

HaHa, who left all those moose tracks. The ending of the book may surprise you. There are certainly moose tracks all over.
Very cute book. Engaging graphics.

[Trisha Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun storytime book that's a bit like a "who done it?" for kids. There are a lot of opportunities for dialogic reading, and older kids will enjoy piecing the puzzle together.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.

[Valleri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Follow our narrator on a hilarious adventure through times a goose stopped by and other creatures...but who on earth left behind the moose tracks?? It's a mystery of humorous proportions.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a fun book with a little bit of a surprise at the end. Nice rhyme

[Faloni © · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get out the waaaaaaaaayyyyyy.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

So predictable that I didn't LOVE it, but it's cute, and I think kids would really like it--especially all the animals.

[Haley Kilgour · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book with animals and an ending kids won’t see coming.

[AWLinton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 3-4 year old book to read aloud with great rhymes and colors