Review of "Young Mole" by C.J. Tripp

Score: 95+/100 (9.5+ out of 10)

Young Mole is a heartwarming, thought-provoking, and adorable book by C.J. Tripp!

Don Bluth taught us a lot of things, but one of the key things he taught us is how cute anthropomorphic cartoon animals like Fievel and Little Foot can still teach us big, serious, and important life lessons. The Greek storyteller Aesop is also legendary for doing this with his timeless fables.

Well, Young Mole is exemplary of this!

This book follows a young mole as he navigates life, learning numerous key lessons while exploring existential questions, systemic and familial issues, and—to be blunt—confronting some of his own personal demons on the way to growth.

It's a coming-of-age tale (or series of short tales) that are sure to provoke conversation, discussion, and teaching moments about morality, ethics, character, responsibility, kindness, respect, our relationship with others, and what it really means to grow up.

What makes Young Mole stand out is that it is not content to be merely cute (we'll get to the adorable illustrations later). Yes, the mole himself is endearing, and yes, there is a softness to the presentation that makes it approachable for younger readers. But beneath that gentle surface is a book with real teeth. It wrestles with fairness, friendship, hunger, fear, family dynamics, social influence, guilt, work ethic, and the search for identity. That is a lot of ground to cover, and C.J. Tripp covers it with surprising ambition.

We especially appreciated how the book captures the confusion of childhood. Mole doesn't simply learn neat little lessons in a tidy, artificial way. He stumbles. He misreads situations. He gets hurt. He makes mistakes. He feels ashamed, frightened, angry, and lost. In other words, he feels like a real young person trying to make sense of a very complicated world. That emotional honesty gives the book much of its strength. There's a real relatability to this character.

There is also something pleasantly old-fashioned about this book in the best sense. It feels like a blend of fable, moral tale, and coming-of-age story. Each episode carries a lesson, but the lessons are broad and meaningful enough to invite discussion rather than just lecture the reader. Parents, teachers, and caregivers should find plenty here to talk about with children.

Of all these lessons, there are really four key ones that we noted:

1. Winning isn't everything

Or, more precisely, winning without consideration can cost you more than you realize. This shows up right away in the “pebble take-away” game. Pluck initially mentions a more cooperative version of the game in which teams could work together and divide the winnings evenly, but Mole and Speck push instead toward a more aggressive, winner-take-all style. Mole then becomes the star player, racing around, grabbing everyone’s pebbles, and even stepping on claws and tails in the process. Technically, he plays within the agreed rules. Technically, he wins. But the other young moles resent him so much that they freeze him out the next day. What is especially effective here is that Mole is confused by their reaction. He keeps thinking, Winning was the goal, right? The book’s answer is basically yes, but not at the expense of goodwill. The chapter even closes with a direct moral: if you play to win, make sure those you defeat still have something to show for their efforts, so they can remain your friends off the field.

2. Parents and authority figures are not always against you

This lesson lands powerfully in Chapter Two. Mole feels hurt because Mother and Father will not stop gathering food to play with him, and in his childish frustration he lashes out, even insulting Father and threatening to kick dirt in his face. Father responds sternly and tells him to go find something else to do, which Mole interprets as rejection. He storms off believing, “Mother and Father won’t miss me anyway,” only to discover that the outside world is not the welcoming playground he imagined. Other foragers mock him, swipe at him, and leave him humiliated and frightened. When he finally finds his way home, he expects punishment, but instead his parents run to him in relief and hug him. Then comes the book’s key clarification: Mother explains that when she and Father say they cannot play, it is not because they do not care. It is “precisely because” they do care, because gathering food is how the family survives. That is such a strong and mature lesson for children. The discipline is real, but so is the love behind it.

3. Life is interconnected, and that can be uncomfortable

This is one of the most surprisingly philosophical parts of the book. In “Spiral of Life,” Mole discovers that worms can talk, which immediately throws his whole understanding of food into crisis. He reasons that if he can converse with worms, how can he possibly keep eating them? Then the worm makes the problem even bigger by suggesting that Mole could hear other creatures too if he listened closely enough. Mole becomes so disturbed by this idea that he stops eating altogether, afraid he might hear something speaking inside his stomach. Later, in his dream, a night crawler tells him that the cycle of life is natural: the mole eats the worm, and one day worms and bugs will consume the mole’s body in return. When Mole wakes and discusses it with his parents, he comes to a painful but important conclusion: every living thing both eats and is eaten. His mother confirms that survival depends on this reality, but Mole still takes from the lesson a sense of restraint and gratitude, promising not to eat all of anything and to be thankful for what he receives. That is a pretty deep meditation for a children’s book, and it is handled in a way that is clear without being crushing.

4. Who you spend time with matters

The clearest example of this is Mole’s relationship with Parned and his gang. At first, they seem exciting. They are rowdy, adventurous, and full of energy, and Mole enjoys the thrill of being around them even though Parned insults him from the beginning and never really treats him with respect. The book is smart here because it shows how bad company can be appealing before it becomes destructive. Mole even hides these friendships from his parents, which suggests he knows deep down something is off. Eventually the gang’s idea of “fun” turns into cruelty when they attack younger students on a school playground. Mole finally realizes this is not harmless mischief and tries to stop them, even pinning Blandy down and confronting the group. But when the adults arrive, Parned instantly lies and pins the whole thing on Mole. Mole ends up taking the blame and being assigned labor to repay the damage. Yet that punishment becomes a turning point. Working under the Headmaster, Mole meets kind students who are “very different from the gang,” and he grows fond of them. So the lesson is twofold: the wrong crowd can drag you into humiliation and false blame, but the right environment can help repair what bad company damaged.

While this isn't exactly the most bright, lighthearted, rainbows--candy-and-unicorns books of them all, we love that it never gets so dark and so disturbing (like Watership Down) that it becomes uncomfortable or inappropriate for kids. This book strikes a really fine balance.

And it's perhaps fitting that the major characters are moles, worms, snails, slugs etc. because these are creatures that usually live underground (or very close to the ground), and in darkness a lot of the time.

It's fascinating how the author and the narrative is able to give light, life, and humanity to these types of creatures.

There are parts of this book that might be slightly uncomfortable or jarring for some readers, but it really isn't bad or inappropriate at all. In fact, these were some of our favorite parts of the book!

For example, there's a moment when Mole absolutely unloads on his father with scathing words because he feels neglected and ignored. He faces the consequences for this and is corrected. And the readers know he is fundamentally wrong for doing this (his father is just trying his best to find them food and provide for the family every day), but it's also hard not to sympathize with Mole. Mole really wanted people to spend time with and play with him, especially his parents. He wasn't getting the care, attention, and affection that he deserved because his parents were so busy all the time. You get the sense that he feels dismissed, forgotten, or even unloved.

Another somewhat dark scene is when Mole dreams about encountering and partially-eating a nightcrawler (earthworm). However, this is arguably our favorite scene in the book because we found it to be so unusual and thought-provoking—a true "AHA!" moment.

In this scene, the nightcrawler offers to let Mole eat part of him, intending to regenerate later. The worm then tells him that when moles die, the worms will eat them, so it's recipricol. This really speaks volumes to the natural give-and-take of life, to the way creation is bound together in ways that are not always pretty but are still meaningful, necessary, and even oddly beautiful. It is a heavy idea, but the book presents it with a kind of childlike clarity that makes it memorable rather than overwhelming. This is not gore for shock value. It is philosophy through story. And honestly? We ate it up. Pun absolutely intended.

That scene also reinforces one of the book's biggest strengths: it trusts young readers more than many modern children's books do. It assumes that kids can wrestle with difficult questions. It assumes they can sit with discomfort, ask big questions, and come out the other side wiser. We respect that. A lot.

The social dynamics in this book are also stronger than we expected. Parned and his gang are not cartoon villains twirling mustaches in a tunnel somewhere. They feel like the kind of kids many readers will recognize instantly: the rough crowd that seems exciting at first, the group that makes bad behavior look fun, the kind of friends who make you feel included right up until the moment they throw you under the bus. That whole section gives the book some real bite and raises the emotional stakes in a meaningful way.

Lastly, let's talk about one of the book's biggest highlights: THE ILLUSTRATIONS!
This book and its adorable characters are brilliantly brought to life by Sara Alaska Hamblin's artwork.

The moles, especially, are a treat for the eyes. They're fluffy and furry with these big eyes and pink hands! Adorable!

Our favorite illustrations by far are the ones in which Mole is interacting with his mother, who is distinct with a pink or red flower on her head. We especially loved the illustrations in which Mole is cuddling with his mother or being comforted by his mother during his nightmare.

The backgrounds and environments are also unique and distinct, featuring dirt, roots, and mushrooms.

All in all, this is a really beautiful book for children.

Check it out on Amazon!