Agate: What Good Is a Moose?

My favorite kids books. Wish it was still being printed

Agate is a beautiful moose but is unhappy with his appearance. “He looks like a Tinker Toy project gone wrong. He feels like a big brown mistake.” Comparing himself to his friends, Agate wishes to shine like Garnet the crocodile, Aquamarine the penguin, Diamond the giraffe, Emerald the lion, Pearl the monkey, Ruby the bear, Peridot the porcupine, Sapphire the hippopotamus, Opal the raccoon, Topaz the eagle, and Turquoise the bat. Agate’s friends help him realize that he is a shining gem too, that his beautiful characteristics create a rainbow of colors to make the perfect secret jewel. Just like his namesake, Agate finally realizes that true beauty lies within. Endpapers feature the animals, their gem names, and the months the gems represent. Readers and listeners will enjoy the magnificent illustrations and the unforgettable story of feeling special. A terrific addition to a home library.

What good is a moose? What good is your self-worth?! This beautifully, uniquely illustrated book is a lovely one to have to read to children, or enjoy yourself for the creative, colorful artwork. The illustrations bring the eyes to the animals while the text tells the reader/listener about Agate's friends different traits.Agate, the moose, feels plain, brown and clumsy next to his friends. His friends convince him that he is a gem just like the rest of the gang. "Just do what you're good at, like being a moose. And remember this simple rule: Let yourself shine, and let others find...you are a secret jewel.""Be glad they're them and you are you...each a gem in life's marvelous zoo!" Each animal is named after a gemstone and is illustrated in the gem's color therefore, Agate is brown! He wishes he was as colorful as others. The self-conscious moose learns that like an unpolished agate he just needs some polish to bring out his beauty inside!There is a section at the end of the book, "Everybody Has a Birthstone," which shows the animals in the book, their gem name and the month that the gem represents. A nice addition to the book to introduce geology/gem rocks to young children!This books introduces new words to a young child's vocabulary and builds a child's knowledge/visual experience of colors. The text is written in a style that is a pleasure to read AND listen to.As a grandma I have this book in my children's book library. It is worth the price of the book just to enjoy the illustrator's terrific work!! Promote creativity by having your child, or yourself, watercolor one of your favorite animals! I have given this book to my granddaughters.I think that "Agate" would make a lovely baby gift to begin a new mom's library...a beautiful welcome gift for her new little "gem."

I am an elementary art teacher and a collector of children's books. When I originally discovered this book in a tiny bookshop in New England I was immediately drawn to this book because of its gorgeously simplistic illustrations. After I read it I knew I'd found the "gem" of my collection! The message of the text makes this book an unforgettable and essential addition to ANY library... children's or otherwise!!!I have never written a review for anything on Amazon before but felt if anything deserved in, this book does! I have purchased several copies over the years to hand out to struggling friends and students as well as to give as gifts. Everyone else who enters my classroom or expresses an interest in seeing my children's book collection is shown this book first... and many are brought to tears. Nothing has the potential to teach life lessons as simply and eloquently and poignantly as do children's books!I read this book every year to my second graders as a motivation for our ceramic unit. We make "beauty pots" that resemble agates to remind us of the lesson of this book: inside beauty is more important than outside beauty and, just like an agate, we are ALL filled with a unique and beautiful potential! This book and this lesson make such an impact on my students that I have actually begun a collection of agates on a window sill in my classroom: students bring them to me as gifts at the end of the school year.I heartily recommend purchasing this book!!! ...multiple copies of it! I'm buying more today!

Have you ever gone searching for an agate? They have a very special appeal to many rock hounds. This wonderful story is about a moose named Agate. He does not feel special. He is surrounded by friends are all named after gemstones and appear beautiful to him. Agate learns that true beauty lies within. The watercolor pictures are the perfect compliment to the text. A page with informational facts about each gemstone and agates is an extra surprise. Agate has his own website with dot-to-dot, drawing, and writing activities. [...] The book and a poster are available from Lake Superior Magazine. [...] Agate was awarded the Midwest Booksellers Choice Award - Best Children's Picture Book in 2008. Agate is a wonderful book to give as a gift to kids and adults of any age. Add a bag of chocolate rocks to make the story, even sweeter.

My class loved this book all year long. It is a great book for the beginning of the school year that explain how special everyone was. Throughout the year students loved reading it around their birthday to see some special qualities. It was also a treat to read on the last day of school to really show appreciation of all of us.We did a special project where we made ourselves out of jpg gemstones, added eyes and mouth clipart. We then wrote why were were special.I highly recommend this for any classrooms that studies rocks.

Would give it a 3 for story, but a 4 for illustration. My grand-son really enjoyed the illustrations too - he is 8. Very creatively painted versions of animals. Kind of a typical story of fitting in - or not having to fit in because we are each created specially with individual characteristics that we can celebrate, instead of trying to make ourselves over to be like someone else. But the main thing about the book is the pictures.