Holey Moley

by Lois Ehlert, Lois Ehlert (Illustrator)

Overview

Get to know Mole, the underground protector of the garden, in this fact-filled natural history adventure with vibrant collage artwork from the Caldecott Honor–winning illustrator of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

Some might think that Mole is a garden pest, but the truth is, he is a pest-preventer! Mole keeps worms and caterpillars and other crawly bugs from munching up all the growing veggie plants. And so at harvest time, there is a bounty of yummy goodies for the gardeners to enjoy—and Mole is chubby from all the eating he has done and ready to get cozy in his burrow for winter.

Complete with a beautiful glossary identifying all of the different worms, caterpillars, moths, and butterflies included in the illustrations, this colorful gem from Caldecott Honoree Lois Ehlert is sure to delight nature lovers of all ages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442493018
Publisher:	Beach Lane Books
Publication date:	10/06/2015
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Lois Ehlert (1934–2021) illustrated numerous inventive, celebrated, and bestselling picture books, including Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Mice, Ten Little Caterpillars, and her own Holey Moley, The Scraps Book, RRRalph, Lots of Spots, Boo to You!, Leaf Man, Snowballs, Waiting for Wings, Planting a Rainbow, Growing Vegetable Soup, and Color Zoo, which received a Caldecott Honor.

Lois Ehlert (1934–2021) illustrated numerous inventive, celebrated, and bestselling picture books, including Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Mice, Ten Little Caterpillars, and her own Holey Moley, The Scraps Book, RRRalph, Lots of Spots, Boo to You!, Leaf Man, Snowballs, Waiting for Wings, Planting a Rainbow, Growing Vegetable Soup, and Color Zoo, which received a Caldecott Honor.

Editorial Reviews

09/28/2015
Ehlert (Scraps) gives readers a mole's-eye-view of the subterranean life in this multilayered exploration of the natural world. The cheeky narrator—a gray cut-paper mole with giant purple claws and a furry outline created with pinking shears—makes its entrance via die-cut circles in the book's cover and first page ("See this hole? I dug it. I'm a mole"). From there, it digs through an elaborate series of tunnels, moving from the lawn to a neatly planted vegetable garden; along the way, the mole passes numerous brightly colored worms squiggling around in the mottled dirt, but seeks out more delectable fare ("Eating earthworms is OK, but not every day"). Ehlert's cut-paper critters and objects come together in a harmonious symphony of textures, shapes, and rich colors (the mole tunnels are a vibrant red, contrasting starkly with the dark, fibrous paper used for the dirt), and the mole's narration reads like a series of excited, extemporaneous rhymes. End pages that identify and briefly discuss various garden-variety bugs conclude this energetic book on an educational note. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

A gentle, bouncing rhyme unwinds in large letters across colorful collage images showing a mole’s travels underground and through fields. This worm-and-bug-eating rodent demonstrates how he is the gardener’s friend, as are the worms that keep the soil tilled and fresh and some of the bugs that the mole doesn’t eat. With a die-cut cover and opening page to draw young readers right into the mole’s tunnel opening, the book’s images of underground trails and cutaway views of root vegetables hold attention as well as providing curiosity-feeding information about little creatures and their roles in our environment. Ehlert uses visible textures as well as shapes and colors in her collages, supplies fun-to-follow underground maps, and includes just enough information about the various worms and insects to give the audience proper names for the species they have come to appreciate, all thanks to this gregarious mole. — Francisca Goldsmith

January 7, 2015 - Booklist online

This picture book is another fine story related to the environment and natural world. The reader follows a mole as it goes about its daily activities, sometimes causing problems for lawn owners; but mostly just looking for something to eat. Ehlert’s cut-paper illustrations are wonderful; full of color, character, and lots of fun. The text moves along nicely in rhyme that will engage young readers and listeners. At the end, there is factual information about moles and the insects and worms the reader meets in the story. This tale is a delightful look underground; useful for science lessons in early primary grades, lessons including nature discussions, or lessons on art illustration techniques. If your teachers and children like Ehlert’s other books, they will love this one, too. Melinda W. Miller, PK-12 Library MediaSpecialist, Colton-Pierrepont Central School, Colton, New York [Editor’s Note:Available in e-book format.]

Highly Recommended

February 2016 - School Library Connection

10/01/2015
K-Gr 2—A new picture book by Ehlert is always a cause for celebration. The light plot, told in rhyme, centers on a mole finding good things to eat in a garden—and like Ehlert's Feathers for Lunch (HMH, 1990), Scraps (S. & S., 2014), and others, the star of the show is the collage illustration. The eponymous mole, plus plants (with extensive root systems), butterflies, and other inhabitants of the garden, are illustrated entirely with cut-paper shapes, some in bright solid colors and some in multihued, textured pieces. Bold blue, orange, and purple backgrounds in the top sections of most pages provide sharp contrast with the brown and black soil underneath. Words are printed in white against these solid color backgrounds, in Ehlert's characteristic large, easy-to-read serif font, sometimes in straight lines and sometimes following curves in the illustrations. Fans of Ehlert's work will recognize these features, but there's more for observant readers to discover here: worms crawling among the dirt form letters that collectively spell the phrase "worms are swell." A physical hole in the cover adds tactile interest. The final pages feature a labeled map of the mole's underground tunnels and an illustrated list of small, labeled pictures of creatures seen earlier in the book. VERDICT Sure to please longtime fans and create new interest in the artist's work.—Jill Ratzan, I. L. Peretz Community Jewish School, Somerset, NJ

School Library Journal

2015-06-23
Deploying her signature graphics, Ehlert digs into familiar turf, depicting a vegetable garden whose pests are handily dispatched by a resident mole. Mole narrates a staccato, rhyming text that matches her dine-and-dash lifestyle. She eats beneficial organisms like earthworms but also often devours such destructive infiltrators as the tomato hornworm and the cabbage caterpillar. Ehlert's reductive paper collages depict Mole's habitat as a vibrant scarlet tunnel threading an underground teeming with insects, worms, and the roots of neatly labeled, rapidly growing vegetables. Mole is cut (with pinking shears!) of fibrous gray paper and sports bright pink forefeet, tail, and snout. Angleworms are amusingly represented as red zigzags, and moths, worms, and grubs masquerade as facial features for the sun and several phases of the moon. The garden's season is a strong visual theme. A seed potato sprouts and grows tubers and leaves (with Mole neatly nipping an infestation of potato beetles); the plant's impressive underground bounty fans out across a double spread. As the garden grows, so does Mole: "my burrow seems small. Holey Moley! / I'm a fat fur ball." Reclining against a mountainous veggie harvest, Mole muses on a new-home search. Slyly, she addresses readers: "Do you think I could move in with you?" Crisp design, her hallmark typeface (Century Standard), and touches of whimsy combine for another delightful garden tour from Ehlert. (visual glossary of garden fauna) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews