From the Editor: Shining a Light on Great Books – Fall 2021

There is a lot of talk these days about being kind. With the stress of the pandemic piled on top of all the other issues that people are dealing with, being kind seems especially important. The picture book Mr. Mole Moves In by Lesley-Anne Green (Tundra Books) is a sweet reminder of the huge impact a simple act of kindness can have. In this story, Mr. Mole has recently moved to Juniper Hollow from Mole Town. When he misinterprets his new neighbours’ friendly overtures, they are a little confused, but just think that things must be done differently in Mole Town. It’s not until a perceptive little bunny gives Mr. Mole her extra eyeglasses, saying, “I thought maybe you could use them,” that the cause of Mr. Mole’s strange responses is revealed. “Oh my goodness!” exclaimed Mr. Mole. “How did you guess? I lost my glasses in the move, and I haven’t been able to see a THING without them!”

This delightful story could be tied into class discussions about kindness and has relevance for themes such as immigration (making newcomers feel welcome), disabilities (how poor eyesight and other disabilities affect people), friendship, acceptance of “differentness,” communities, and change.

I chose this book to highlight in this issue partly because of the storyline, but also because the book is truly a work of art—beautifully designed and illustrated with photographs of scenes carefully constructed using real objects and populated with characters created by needle felting. Certainly, it would be a wonderful inspiration for fibre arts projects and the construction of dioramas in the classroom.

Mr. Mole Moves In follows Fox and Raccoon, previously published by the same creators.

Diana Mumford
Diana is the Editor at Canadian Teacher Magazine.

This article is featured in Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Fall 2021 issue.