This book could just as readily been named Finley, the Adorable Moose, or Finley, the Persistent Moose. It is a story about a loveable moose who longs to ride the train. The conductor tells Finley that it is against the rules for a wild animal to ride the train. Each day Finley hops on the caboose in a different costume, only to be caught by the conductor, who reiterates the rule. Author Candace Spizzirri uses alliteration and other fun literary devices to make the book an appealing read-aloud. The illustrations by Burgen Thorne and Chantelle Thorne are captivating. Written about the pair: "Avid bookworms themselves, they take great delight in the visual storytelling of picture books, art and text working together, every word and every image adding to the reader’s experience." The imagination of Spizzirri's costumes together with the Thorne's colorful depictions, are delightful. I especially liked the steamer trunk, with an inflatable pink flamingo, flip flops, and swimming trunks falling out. Your child might notice the tiny bluebird, obviously Finley's great friend, appearing in each illustration. A favorite is Finley's hot dog costume with Bluebird, disguised as a mustard bottle, perched on his antler. Thank you to NetGalley and Gnome Road Publishing for this ARC.

Finley, the moose, dreams of riding the rails. He greets passengers every day and hopes to join them by enjoying both the journeys and the destinations. Unfortunately, Conductor Jones intones, "No wild animals allowed." But this won't stop Finley. He uses various methods of trickery and sneakery to get on board. Will he succeed? Can the rules of travel be changed for all friendly animals? Climb aboard and find out in this lighthearted ode to railway travel with fun, engaging drawings by Chantelle and Burgen Thorne.

Thanks to Gnome Road Publishing for this review e-copy through the LibraryThing GiveAways.

Poor Finley yearns to ride the rails, but every attempt to catch a ride ends with him being ejected from the train. Even disguises don't work. (My favorite was the penguin costume.) Will Finley ever be able to enjoy the view from a speeding caboose?

This is a fun and silly story with delightful illustrations by Chantelle and Burgen Thorne.

All Finley wants to do is ride the train through Alaska, but the conductor kicks him off because he's 'a wild animal'...

He comes up with the idea to put a costume on to make him be less noticeable.
He repeats this, several times over. All of the costumes are fun, but time and time again he's kicked off because ‘rules are rules'.

However, when Finley's help is needed to get a tree off the tracks he's deemed a hero and is now allowed to have his dream come true to ride the train... and this time, it’s okay for rules to be broken.


A great and fun book....

But I didn’t like how they repeatedly tell us how sneaky he was trying to be, as it makes it seem like it’s okay to be sneaky and break the rules.


Overall, a very cute book though!

So dang lovely! Finley forever! These illustrations are just pure fire and I love this message! If this isn't a series yet, let's get it going!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. All opinions are my own.

Finley is a moose with a dream and decided he was going to make it come true. I must say he was the cutest blue bear as well.

An awesome story with amazing illustrations. I'm hoping for more Finley stories because he is flipping wonderful

Finley is an adorable character with an interest in riding a train. After many sneaky attempts and failures Finley gets to ride the train and saves the day! A great story for kids with a fun and pleasing written scheme to read outloud.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

Whimsical effort about a moose that wants to get on board the train and leave his Alaskan home town of Talkeetna – perhaps he took against the cat being mayor, or perhaps it's just that he has a to-be-celebrated wish to see more of the outside world and have more fun. But he won't get any fun on board, as every time he takes his place the conductor spots him and kicks him off, even if he's dressed as a hotdog or a penguin (the moose that is, not the conductor). Giving it one more go, he seems to succeed – but then disaster, and a disaster that can only lead to him being rumbled one last time…

It's frivolous, it's not unattractive, and it's a good, gentle read with a nice levity to it. Is it essential for anyone outside Talkeetna to purchase it? Probably not. By all means pick it up if you chance upon it, but it's not what I could ever call an important purchase. Three and a half stars.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

This is a story about a moose who just wants to ride the train that he has been greeting at the station every day for a long time. The adventures that the passengers talk about sound so fun to Finely, that he wants to go on his own adventures too. So he tries to sneak onto the train, but just the caboose. He doesn't want to be in the way, he just wants to go too. The conductor catches him over and over again, regardless of what type of disguise he wears, and every time he kicks him off. But the last time Finley plans on trying to ride, there's a tree trunk across the tracks, stopping all progress. And it was a good thing Finley was there, because he is big enough and strong enough to remove the trunk so the train can continue on its route with no further delays. From that day forward, the rules are changed so Finley can ride the train too.

The illustrations were fun, seeing all the different disguises that Finley tries to get to ride the train. They were bright and colorful and kind of had me giggling at times. I also appreciated the message of the story. Just because something is a rule doesn't mean that rule is right, and we should challenge unjust rules, because that's how we can affect change. I would be okay reading this book a few times before I'd get too terribly tired of it and want to move onto something new. Overall I give this book 4.25 out of 5 stars.

This sweet book tells the story of a moose named Finley who really wants to ride on a train. Despite his best attempts at disguises he seems to always get caught by the conductor and reminded of the train rule against moose being abord! Then one day (much like another famous deer-like animal with a red nose), Finley saves the day and everyone on the train shows their appreciation for this special moose. The artwork/illustrations are really neat, and I could see kids really loving the story line. I could also see using this book as a mentor text for a fun writing project about other animals in places they shouldn't be. I would definitely recommend this book to parents and teachers of children in the age 4-9 range. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

What an absolutely beautiful children's book is Finley by Candace Spizzirri! Both the story by Spizzirri and the illustrations by Chantelle Thorne and Burgen Thorne are heartwarming, engaging, and delightful.
I particularly enjoyed the use of words that evoke a sound - such as chugga-chugged and clackety-clack; they are sure to make reading the book aloud to a youngster a delight for all involved. Of course, the story of a friendly moose wanting to experience the fun of riding on a train but being put off almost immediately is fun, and the reader cannot help but root for the determined moose as he proves that a moose on a train can be a good thing in the end.
I also love how the little blue bird sticks with Finley throughout the book, adding another dimension of hide-and-seek fun for kids (and adults) as they read.
This is sure to be a book that becomes a family favourite for those with young children.
I am glad to have received an ARC of #Finley courtesy of #NetGalley and #GnomeRoadPublishing .

Finley, the moose, wants to join the adventure of travelling to distant places by riding the train, rolling into Talkeetna station daily. One day, he decided to act on his longing and make his dream come true. But riding in the caboose is not something that moose are allowed to do. He tries to outsmart the rule-following conductor in many ways, but nothing seems to work. But maybe fate has it that will let Finley the Moose ride in the caboose.

This story teaches us to never give up on our dreams. No matter how many obstacles are thrown our way. One day, the moment is right, and they will come true.

We loved all the ways Finley tried to outsmart the conductor and how he never gave up. It’s a life lesson learned through silliness. This is a wonderful picture book for you and your young ones.

Finley: A Moose on the Caboose is a unique and fun adventure about a friendly moose who wants to travel the world via train. Candace Spizzirri’s light and funny story is easy-to-follow while Chantelle and Burgen Thorne’s charming illustrations are so memorably cute!

Friendly Alaskan Moose Finley spends his mornings happily greeting passengers arriving at Talkeetna Station. His big dream is to travel the world via the rails. One day, he hops aboard the train to fulfil his dream. However, rules are rules and Conductor Jones declares that wild animals are not allowed on board! Determined Finley refuses to give up and cycles through hilarious disguises in his quest to stay on that train. But, Conductor Jones sees straight through every costume and poor Finley gets booted from the train every time. However, one day, something unexpected happens to the train. With courage and heart, Finley comes to the rescue, showing the conductor and readers that some rules can be changed!

This is a very entertaining, endearing, and easy–to-read adventure! The short sentences and simple dialogue are kid-friendly with approachable words. Young readers will particularly love that the narrative is filled with fun words and sounds that they can make while reading out loud.

Finley is such a sweet and adorable moose! I particularly love his friendliness, perseverance, and resourcefulness. He never gives up no matter the obstacles in his path. His determination and resilience are such great qualities that readers can try to replicate. I especially love how helpful and kind he is. Both kids and adults can definitely learn from Finley’s big heart and bravery!

Chantelle and Burgen Thorne’s beautiful full-colour and full-page illustrations are so wonderful! Every single page shines with fun, humour, and amazing little details. Finley is an adorable moose with his fuzzy happy face and impressive antlers. His expressions are just heartfelt and golden! I love his ever present little bluebird friend who lives on Finley’s antlers and who even gets in on the costume antics! The disguises had me giggling! The Christmas tree and hot dog outfits (complete with the sweet bluebird wearing a Santa hat and a mustard bottle, respectively) are particularly memorable! I also love the depiction of the beautiful Alaskan natural scenery as well as the diversity of the human characters.



🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌 out of 5 friendly mooses!

I liked that Finley was determined to follow his dreams and wouldn't give up on them no matter how many times he was pushed down again. A good story with a moral.

When a moose is loose on the caboose what are you going to choose to doose?
Ahh I loved reading this to my kids and a rather entertaining story.
Illustrations aid the written story so well and we loved the costumes Finley wore to sneak onto the train.

Thank you to the publisher Gnome Road Publishing for the ARC on NetGalley.

Reminiscent of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Finley: A Moose on the Caboose is an adorable picture book about a moose named Finley who just wants to travel to all the fun places the people are going. But rules are rules, and no moose are allowed. *sad face* In the end, Finley the Moose (not to be confused with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) saves the day and gets to ride to his heart's content. I like the idea of teaching children to challenge out-of-date rules and to help your neighbors despite how they've treated you. But I don't like the fact that you have to 'prove' yourself to get to do something so simple as enjoy a caboose ride. Idk. Maybe I'm overthinking it and this will become a children's favorite. It is super cute! I will consider it for our library acquisition.

***Thank you to Netgalley and Gnome Road Publishing for providing me with a review copy.***

The artwork in this is super cute and the main character is a wholesome moose who just wants to see the world from onboard the train. The conductor keeps turning him away, but he's determined to ride the rail and doesn't give up his attempts.

Finley was such an adorable moose and this book was just too adorable. There needs to be a place where I can buy a Finley stuffed animal! This was a great book with good lessons throughout. Would recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley & Edelweiss for the ARCs!

Finley the moose, just wants to be on the caboose! A cute story of a persistent moose, who saves the day and changes an unnecessary rule. Great storyline that’s emphasized by the drawings.

Thank you NetGalley and Gnome Road Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Finley was such a fun read! As a fan of moose, train travel and the north, of course I would pick this one up. My son got a kick out of all Finley's ideas for disguising himself, enjoyed looking at all the lovely illustrations and was engaged from start to finish with the prose. Mom approved. Kid approved. And will definitely be on the look out for a copy to add to our library. Loved loved loved Finley.