Moocher in the Lun by Tom Dawe

Moocher in the Lun: A Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Alphabet, written by Tom Dawe and illustrated by C. Anne MacLeod, is one of the books donated by Flanker Press as a prize for the February Reading Challenge.  The prize book is actually signed by both the author and illustrator, making it that much more special.

Younger children can get enjoyment out of this alphabet book by just looking at the illustrations and seeing the creative ways the letters of the alphabet are incorporated into the pictures.  That's what Anna did on her own when she picked up the book to check out for herself.  She spent a long time checking out each page.

Each double page spread of the book features a different letter of the alphabet with an illustration on one side of the page and rhyming text on the facing page.  Each letter stands for a different Newfoundland expression, many of which I had never heard before.

The text of the book is far beyond younger children, but it would make a great learning resource for older children.  There is a glossary in the back of the book to help with understanding the often foreign sounding text.  There is a lot of Newfoundland culture and folklore wrapped up in this book.

Anna and I read it together spreading the reading over a number of days.  It really was much to much for either of us to take in at one sitting, but we did enjoy it in smaller doses.  I definitely see us coming back to it often over the years, especially as a learning resource for culture and language heritage.

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