Wonder Mole's Scent Costume Party

by Pato Mena

Also available in Spanish as La gran fiesta de los olores The Perfect Siesta author Pato Mena will make you laugh with this new wacky story! “Wait… A costume party thrown by a mole?! But they can’t see!”, you may say. Yet Wonder Mole throws legendary costume parties. You wanna know how? Have you ever wondered how do moles manage to dress up for costume parties? The answer is… SCENT COSTUMES! However, this also entrails some risks. Say, for example, if a sneaky weasel would sneak into the party…! Find out how this uproar of a party ends! Fabulous illustrations, in bright, warm colors, complement this funny story. This Chilean author/illustrator bears watching! ~Youth Services Book Review

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Humor, Spanish Literature

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Nostalgia Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun book! A bit of an absurd premise while simultaneously being a bit believable. Since moles can’t hardly see, rather than have a costume party, they have a scent party where they “dress up” in other animal’s scents. But what happens when Weasel crashes the party as himself to score some tasty mole snacks? Will he be foiled?

I found it quite contradictory that the guests did in fact still dress up as the animals whose scents they were wearing. However, it made sense since this book is for humans, who are quite visual, and needed to be able to distinguish between the moles. The illustrations were fantastic–very retro and geometric! Weasel’s look was goofy and the moles were all very silly as well. I loved the expressive exclamation pages throughout. The ending is a fun reveal and plays to the good cute-woodland-creatures vs. evil mustelidae trope, which while overdone and unfair, is still a fun one.

Yes it’s quite silly, but it still has a message to it (don’t pretend to be someone you aren’t) and, again, has wonderful illustrations.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy to review!

(Cross posted on my blog.)

[Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a funny book about moles and a mischievous weasel. It's cute with a unique illustration style. Good for some giggles with the little one.

This unbiased review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.

[La Coccinelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story has a rather unique premise: when moles have costume parties, they base their costumes largely on scent (since they don't see very well). So when Wonder Mole has a party, all his friends show up wearing various animal scents: giraffe, penguin, frog, horse, etc. A hungry weasel sees an opportunity and sneaks into the party. The moles just think the weasel is another mole in costume, but the weasel has plans to eat a couple of moles for dinner. He joins the celebrations, and even makes it to the final round of the costume competition. But will he be found out before he can satisfy his hunger?

The story is simple and rather silly (how would a mole recognize a rhinoceros costume? Have they been around lots of rhinoceroses?) but the real strength here is the pictures. The weasel is hilarious, and his facial expressions (especially at the end) made me smile. He may have gotten more than he bargained for by sneaking into that party!

While the story is basically just a clever premise wrapped up in a sparse story and some bold illustrations, it kind of works. Kids who are able to just go with the story (and not keep wondering how the moles could recognize all those diverse animal scents, like I was) will probably be amused and entertained.

Thank you to NetGalley and nubeOcho for providing a digital ARC.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all know that moles have almost no eyesight and get around by smell, so when Mole has a costume party, not only do the animals dress up as other animals, but they wear the scent of the animal as well. What a perfect time for the weasel to sneak up on the unsuspecting moles.

The premise of this story is quite silly. How would moles know what an elephant or rhinoceros looked or smelled like. Of course that it the adult talking, the grandchildren had no problem with this issue at all. In fact, my grandson was yelling at the moles in the story to figure out that the weasel was not a mole in costume and they had better be careful. The illustrations were wonderful. Weasel’s look was quite goofy and the moles were all very silly as well. The ending was an unexpected twist that showed good triumph over evil. This was a cute story that the grandchildren enjoyed. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

[Gladimore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly unique book, something I have never read before. I really enjoyed that before you read the story, they explained what the heck a scent costume party was. When it comes to a scent costume party, what happens there stays there. Especially for a sneaky animal friend, who thinks he is more sly than he really is. What will happen that Wonder Mole's Scent Costume Party?!
#Netgalley

[javier fernández]

Divertido

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this delightfully inventive.

[Steff Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

| Reader Fox Blog |


Wonder Mole's Scent Costume Party by Pato Mena is, quite frankly, one of the funniest children's books I've had the pleasure to read. Thoroughly goofy in both illustrations and storytelling, the story seeks to educate young children about moles and weasels in a small way while simultaneously telling an incredibly amusing tale. I already know that my niece would just adore this tale.

The basic premise of this story is that wonder mole is holding a costume party. Now that alone sounds somewhat odd since moles are basically blind and instead of seeing typically use their noses to get around, find food, and live. So, a costume party for moles involves scent costumes wherein the moles dress up by making themselves smell like other animals. Enter the weasel.

Wesel is hungry and eager to gobble up a few of the moles for his dinner. Cleverly, it seems that the moles' costume party provides the perfect opportunity to infiltrate and find himself some dinner. Of course, as it turns out, the weasel is a little bit in over his head with this one.

With absolutely beautiful illustrations and an intriguing story with a twist at the end, I think this book is a magnificent one to add to your child's book collection. I had a lot of fun reading it and I know for a fact that this book will appeal to a great number of young kids, especially if they're fond of animals and seeing the sneaky ones try and fail to make others a part of their meal.

I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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[Alicia Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute little picture book about a mole who has a costume party regarding scents, since all moles are blind and wouldn't see physical costumes. They wear scents like rhino scent instead. A weasel decides to come in pretending to be in scent costume as a weasel in order to eventually eat some moles. A mole policeman shows up and joins the fun, but still doesn't suspect the weasel. Then a neighborly hedgehog comes by to tell them to keep the noise down and says hi to the weasel, which is an "uh oh" ending for the outed weasel.

I like that kids learn a bit about moles but there are so many holes in the story. Even as a child I remember thinking things like "why wouldn't the weasel just eat the mole immediately and leave?". I don't get why he would just hang around a party all night.

The illustrations are cute, but the writing itself is rather uninspired (Charlotte Mason homeschool moms would recognize the label of "twaddle" for this type of writing, see https://simplycharlottemason.com/blog...).

"Hehe, thanks," the clever weasel said, slinking into the party. Luckily for him, moles couldn't see who he really was."

Kids are likely to enjoy the book, though, especially the illustrations.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since Moles live underground and can barely see, they have costume parties that are very different.

Due to their terrific sense of smell, they come smelling, and not dressing like a different animal. (This is all explained before the story begins.)

The first smelly guest comes with a slight costume, I guess that’s for the benefit of the reader, not the moles. But with a SNIFF, SNIFF, SNIFF Wonder Mole identifies the guest as a mole-friend disguised and scented as a jaguar.

Then comes moles dressed and scented as a frog, fox, and a crocodile. And what a surprise, one guest smells, and to the reader, looks very much like a weasel!

Could it be a clever weasel is attempting to crash a mole party and find a tasty meal?

Will he manage to get away with his plan? After all, smelling and looking like a weasel shouldn’t really be a problem since that’s what this party is all about. Being something other than a mole.

My Concerns:
We read that they don’t wear costumes and every mole has a slight costume on in the illustrations. I understand the need to wear them. I just think the introduction could have been changed which might have made it less confusing.

While the ending was cute, I’m not sure it’s enough to make up for an otherwise ordinary story and illustrations.

What I Liked Most:
I like that when the hedgehog neighbor comes over to ask the group to be a little less loud, something unexpected and funny happens.

I also like the illustrations of the weasel, he is quite cute.

https://pickagoodbook.com/wonder-mole...

[Tom M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonder Mole is giving a costume party. However, since moles cannot see very well, moles' costume parties are through disguising their scents so they smell like other creatures. (Yet they still dress up, for some reason)

To provide some narrative tension, the party is crashed by a weasel who is hoping to eat some of the moles. Hijinks ensue, with a visit from the local Mole Police and a Costume Contest. There's a fun bit of a twist at the end to provide an extra laugh for the kids.

Mena's artwork is cartoon-ish and lighthearted. I hope to see more from him.

Two nit-picky things: The story starts with a preface (that end with, "now you're ready to read this book!") that should have simply been incorporated into the text. Also, the main character's name is Wonder Mole, but there's no reason why he wasn't just given a standard name. "Wonder Mole" suggests a superhero, not a simple, friendly mole.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since moles have poor eyesight, they must rely on their keen sense of smell. Wonder Mole plans a costume party in which the guests are wearing the scent of the animal they wish to pretend to be. The party is a great success with the host sniffing each of his guests. But there's an intruder among them--a weasel who is crashing the scene in hopes of a good meal. He gets away with it for a time, but eventually, the jig is up. Young readers will enjoy all the silliness and seeing a mole as the protagonist. The vivid images and interesting fonts and type faces used in the illustrations add to the delights of reading this one. I got such a kick out of seeing Wonder Mole with his glasses and somewhat lost expression.

[Theediscerning · Rating 5 out of 5]

A silly little book for silly little children shouldn't be able to surprise and please as much as this – or so is the general thinking. This eventful drama, where practically blind moles have a party where everyone has come in the scent of an other animal, certainly packed in the twists and turns. And I think the surprises are strong and funny enough that this would cope with repeat reading, even once the plot has been discovered. At times the artwork was a little too wacky for me, but it gives the pages great energy, and the brief story comes across well. I have to strongly recommend this for the under-eights it's aimed at, for it certainly entertained me.

[Raven Black · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was great potential to the story. The theme of having a "scent party" instead of a costume party for the (blind) moles, is a hoot. The lead up of a sneaky weasel finds its way into the party has good tension. Yet, the foolishness of the moles, their naivety and especially the police officers extreme lack of any common sense tosses it out the door. When the weasel is found out (no thanks to the moles themselves) that is where it ends. What is the point of the story? There were so many ways this could have gone, yet did not. Very confusing in the end

[FM Family · Rating 3 out of 5]

My three year old really enjoyed this book. She’s usually pretty stoic while reading but at the end was like “That book was FUNNY!” It’s a bit of a strange one, with the scent costume party concept and the pages that have a sort of meme-ish sensibility where wonder mole and the inspector decide he should judge the contest. But it’s a creative idea and done with lots of suspense that works for kids I think. Worth a read if you like silly!

[Rayén · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hoy por un curso de lenguaje oral nos llevaron a mis compañeras y a mi a la biblioteca de una universidad cerca.

Un muchacho nos contó esta historia y creo que nunca había visto a mujeres de 20 años ser tan felices como en ese momento.

No lo leí, lo escuché, pero fue un momento tan lindo que quise dejarlo como registro aquí.

La verdad también me acordé de Levi de Fangirl, que me convenció que no es necesario leer un libro, para leerlo 🫣

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever tale. A weasel sneaks into Wonder Moles party! Since the moles can't see, he thinks he's going to get a free mole meal! Kids learn all about scent and eyesight in moles in this fun little story. Illustrations were a hoot!

I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

[Jess Smiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique and fun idea with playful illustrations that children will love. I wonder how many children will be familiar with moles and weasels, or if they’ll be taken out of the story to ask questions about the animals. In any case, I really enjoyed the concept and look forward to many more books from Plato Mena.

[Woody Chichester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute. Very silly. Very fun to read aloud. These moles went all out for this party, and I love the shadow illustrations in the foreground, too. What's a party without cocktails! That weasel may or may not have learned his lesson. But I bet he won't underestimate those who are blind ever again.

[Jj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of weird, in a good way. I think kids would like it. A very different way of thinking about costume parties here.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute story and it takes a minute to realize that a trick is being played. Loved it.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A sort of unique idea. I think the kids will learn something new. The pictures are fun.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Kris Reguera · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Qué original y divertido! Las ilustraciones tipo tira cómica son súper expresivas y el cuento me ha parecido súper gracioso. Con ganas de leer más cuentos de este autor.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this on the shelf at my library, and I had to take it home and read it! Just the title made me chuckle. So I knew it was going to be a good one!
And I was right. This book was great. I learned some new words in Spanish I didn't know before.

Great book!