cover image Mole Had Everything

Mole Had Everything

Jamison Odone. Blue Apple (Random, dist.), $14.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-60905-224-9

Odone (The Bedtime Train) takes no shortcuts as an illustrator; each spread of Mole’s story is crammed with visual information. Mole has a furry gray coat, a scarf with fringe, and few possessions—something that doesn’t bother him until his friend Emerson comes for tea and finds that Mole only has one cup. “Look at my house,” Emerson says. “I have just about everything!” Mole’s exhaustive attempt to collect more belongings culminates in a handsomely produced die-cut, double-page gatefold that lifts up to reveal his new possessions: a traffic light, a pirate flag, and dozens of other largely unidentifiable, vaguely steampunky objects. While the ending is predictable—Mole gives everything away and goes back to the simple life—Odone thoroughly explores the burden of owning too many things, drawing Mole despondent next to a triceratops skull and stuck snout-first inside an old RCA-style loudspeaker. Dark elements throughout (it’s autumn, and the birds fly like dead leaves) give the book a Halloween feel; perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of Odone’s work is the narrow path he walks between Wind-in-the-Willows whimsy and surreal spookiness. Ages 5–up. Agent: Libby Ford, Artist Representative. (June)