Moosepire - Hardcover

Grade 3-5 Fans of Pinkwater's The Blue Moose (Dodd, 1975) will welcome a sequel, but they may be in for a disappointment with this book. The author tells how he first came to be inter- ested in the legend of the Moosepire, a moose zombie that sucks the wax out of its victim's ears, causing insanity. Intrigued, the author journeys to the Northern Territory town of Yellowtooth, where he finds a manuscript written by the Blue Moose, detailing his own investigation into the Moosepire legend. So far, so good; however, another rollickingly nutty Pinkwater opus bogs down half-way through and never quite recovers. Although there are the usual grand moments of silliness and sly humor, the attempt to be droll results in dreariness. It's almost as if Pinkwater ran out of ideas in the middle of the book, for his solution to the mysterya time machineis a hoary device that destroys whatever logical plot development had preceded it, and makes the denouement a distinct cop-out. This is unfortunate since the first half of the book has terrific pacing, and the wacky premise of a vampire moose is one that could tempt even reluctant readers. However, the second half of the book falls flat and invalidates the first half. James and Deborah Howe's Bunnicula (Atheneum, 1979), Angela Sommer-Bodenburg's My Friend, the Vampire (Dial, 1984), or even Pinkwater's I Was a Second Grade Werewolf (Dutton, 1983) are worthier choices. Kathleen Brachmann, Highland Park Public Library, Ill.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.