The illustrations in this book were just gorgeous -- I love when there are so many things to look at on each page, so many tiny details. ( )

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book through NetGalley. ( )

Die Maulwürfe wohnen unter einer schönen grünen Wiese - bis sie anfangen, ihr Tunnelsystem dramatisch auszubauen. Tolle Illustrationen, aber deprimierendes, halboffenes Ende. ( )

"One day a mole moved under a lush green meadow. He was alone at first, but not for long..."

The underground area expands and transforms, mirroring industrial growth aboveground, with its crowding and pollution. The final spread shows the meadow, now gray mounds of dirt with one small roped-off patch of green grass.

"Many generations later, the moles' green meadow had completely disappeared. Almost."

Almost wordless; a bit bleak. ( )

The fabulously talented Torben Kuhlmann, the German author/illustrator who made his debut with Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse, returns with this second picture-book, an almost wordless history of the development of Moletown. Founded when one mole moves in underneath a green meadow, the settlement soon grows, becoming ever more complex and developed. The surface soon shows the result of this underground urban sprawl: with only a tiny patch of green grass left...

Originally published in German as Maulwurfstadt, this gorgeously-illustrated cautionary tale doesn't really cover any new ground, when it comes to its ecological message about the dangers of overdevelopment. Dr. Seuss's The Lorax and Bill Peet's The Wump World have been around for many decades, and impart the same message. What makes Moletown stand out is Kuhlmann's beautiful artwork, and the fact that his overdeveloping society is made up of moles. There isn't much text here - only a few pages have any words at all - but the illustrations are more than capable of carrying the story. Recommended to fans of Kuhlmann's artwork (in whose number I now count myself), and to young readers who enjoy animal fiction. ( )