Moose Eggs, or Why Moose Have Flat Antlers
subtitle

by Susan Williams Beckhorn
Illustrated by Helen Stevens

       If you have wondered why moose look the way they do, this story may have the answer. It seems that, in the Morning of the World, moose looked much like deer, with forked antlers, and no humped back or big nose. Moose wanted a baby moose, but his wife said, "Babies come all in good time." He wasn't satisfied with that answer, and he talked to his friend Grouse, who had lots of babies running around. Grouse thought that Moose needed to hatch an egg. These silly characters managed to find a couple of river rocks that were shaped like eggs, which they balanced on Moose's antlers to wait for them to hatch.

Neither Moose nor Grouse had any idea of how long Moose eggs take to hatch, and so moose carried them for many months, until they flattened his antlers, and caused him to have a funny nose from being propped on the ground to rest, because the stones were so heavy.

This funny, read-aloud story is bound to bring up some interesting conversations at family time about fables we love and, well...the birds and the bees. Beckhorn has written several books “explaining” animal oddities, offering creative stories behind the porcupine's quills, the skunk's stripes, and others.

The wonderful illustrations by Helen Stevens give the story a visual explanation that the kids will love. I especially enjoyed the life sized illustrations of bird eggs on the inside covers.