Wade's Wiggly Antlers

Everybody must grow up. It's a simple biological fact. Wade, an adorable little moose, found the whole process kind of nerve-racking. One winter morning he detected a problem with his antlers. They wiggled, they wobbled and were very unstable. He began to worry. He needed those puppies!! What if his antlers fell off? How could he cope with them gone? How would he play ping pong, and where would his friends perch if they were missing AND how in the world would he fly his kite? He had to rack his brain to figure out how he would function without them. Oh my!

He hurried home to tell his mom about his dilemma and she calmly assured him:

"Don't worry. New ones will grow in the summer."

The time finally arrived when Wade was de-racked. Instead of feeling sad and forlorn he turned the milestone in his life into one of celebration and opportunity. He felt lighter and even freer... YAHOOOO!!!! He didn't have to worry at all. He learned a very valuable lesson. Sometimes change can be a very good and exciting thing.

The illustrations are so fun and kid-friendly. This charming book is the perfect catalyst for conversations regarding body changes and how to cope with these changes as you grow up. Wade inspires readers not to worry or despair but to embrace the natural events that occur in your life and to love yourself no matter what stage you are at.


Storywraps rating: 5 Storywraps hugs!

Wade is a young moose who loves playing with his friends. When he realizes one fall morning that his antlers are "wiggly" he is worried. He does not want them to fall off because he uses them for so many different things. He decides that if he is very careful, they will not fall off. He stops playing with his friends and sits on the sidelines. His mother explains to him that he will grow new ones in the spring, but he is still afraid. As he sits and watches his friends, he realizes that he is missing out on a lot of things, so he jumps back in to playing with his friends and decides that if they fall off, that is fine.

The message in this book is that Wade has to learn to accept that he is growing up and that with growing up comes change. He also realizes that change just might not be so bad after all. He has a lot of fun when he has no antlers, in fact he can do some things he could not do before, like win at "hide and seek". The illustrations in this children's book are wonderful. I love how the different animals are depicted. They are not completely realistic, but not too stylized that they are unrecognizable. They show expressions well and have a lot of colour and activity in them. This would be a great book to have in a family library to use with the little ones as they are growing up as well as in school and community libraries.