The Marvelous Moleon

Gr 2-4–Wouldn’t it be cool to combine two completely different animals into one unique creature? It sounds like a fun game but things can go wrong—especially for two young inventors in this new series. Noah and Blue are friends whose personalities complement each other. Noah is a curious inventor who enjoys theatrics, wearing an old tuxedo coat, top hat, bow tie, and glasses (without the glass) for each experiment. Blue is the brainy one who explains animal traits and why they’re needed. Every Thursday morning before school, Noah and Blue get together to invent a new animal. They use a special book Noah’s grandfather gave him titled Zooniverse. It gives the owner the ability to design an animal mash-up while using dice and stencils. The duo combines a mole with a chameleon—a moleon! It doesn’t take long for the drawing of the new creature to come to life and pop off the paper. Noah brings the moleon to school, where chaos ensues with the boys’ new animal friend. This is a solid title that combines themes of friendship and science. Readers will learn a lot about animals while enjoying a fun story. Black-and-white illustrations are strategically placed to break up the text and add a visual aspect to the high jinks. Particular words are in large bold text to emphasize what the character is feeling at the moment.