Commentaire descriptif

Wilfred meets a moose. He names him Marcel, and decides he’ll make a fine pet. Marcel and Wilfred enjoy many good times together, although the moose doesn’t always follow the “rules of how to be a good pet.” The illustrations feature simple figures painted into found art landscapes. In one striking spread, the faint image of a mountainscape provides the context for stick-legged Wilfred, unwinding the ball of string that guides him home, while Marcel strolls on ahead, begging the question, who is walking whom? When Wilfred learns that Marcel has another so-called owner, he becomes “embarrassed and enraged . . . .” He rushes home and becomes tangled in his string. When Marcel helps untie the boy, Wilfred learns that having a friend can be even better than having a pet. This story captures the challenge of understanding and appreciating things as they really are – not as one might like them to be – as Wilfred struggles to make Marcel into a proper pet. The compromise they reach will be recognized by readers in their own friendships: “The moose would agree to all of Wilfred’s rules . . . whenever it suited him.”