Review by Booklist Review
PreS. From her tiny, snug burrow, Little Mouse spots a beautiful red apple--a perfect snack if she can only squeeze it inside her home. My little house is too small, she decides. I'll look for another. Off she wanders, fruit in tow, asking animal friends to take her and her apple into their homes. No one has room, but finally, Mouse finds the perfect spot: right where she started, where the apple--much reduced since hungry Mouse nibbled at it all day--fits just fine. Although a few children may wonder why mouse is so quick to abandon her cozy home, Horacek writes with a pleasing rhythm and word choices that are just right for preschoolers. Children will also enjoy his watercolor-and-cut-paper collages, in shiny fruit and vegetable hues, which alternate between the wide outdoors and cozy animal burrows and feature clever cutaways that show views from outside in, or, with a turn of the page, from inside out. Small children will find plenty to point at and chortle over in this simple, handsome offering. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A mouse's eyes are bigger than her stomach-and her meal is bigger than her house, too-in this chipper paper-over-board picture book featuring die-cut holes that grow larger with each spread. When a big red apple appears outside her hole-sweet-home, Little Mouse is eager to make a meal out of it. But, as the sizeable fruit won't fit into her modest dwelling, she sets off to find a new home for herself and her hefty harvest. However, each new larger die-cut hole the mouse happens upon is already inhabited by a content owner with no room to spare. Luckily, her search makes Little Mouse hungry, and as she takes time for a few nibbles of apple, makes the fruit a little less cumbersome. By the time she sees a hole that looks just right, she's actually right back where she started, and with an apple that can now fit inside her home with her. The simple wanderings of a rodent on a mission make the perfect plot for these die-cut pages. Horacek's (When the Moon Smiled) energetic watercolor-and-cut-paper art suggests a kicky blend of Eric Carle and Simms Taback. Black scratchy backgrounds alongside the brighter peek-a-book effect will have little ones imagining the view underground in their own backyards. Ages 3-5. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
(Preschool) What's a mouse to do with a big, juicy apple that doesn't fit inside ""the tiny hole where she lives""? She sets out to find a bigger home, of course. Little Mouse comes across a few options, but in each one the current resident claims not to have space for a roommate (the timid mouse declines her one invitation -- from a very large bear). ""Looking for a new house makes you hungry,"" so it's a good thing Little Mouse has an apple to nibble on at each stop. Preschool audiences will see where the story is going: by nightfall, Little Mouse and her now much-smaller apple arrive at a tiny, familiar-looking hole. The apple fits inside perfectly. ""'I knew I would find somewhere just right for both me and my apple,' she said, and she climbed into her own bed and fell fast asleep."" The color-rich, heavily textured watercolor and cut-paper collages add much to the simple story. Die-cut holes in the sturdy pages (and on the cover) not only are integral to the story but also allow alternate views from inside and outside the animals' homes. This offering will quickly satisfy story-hour cravings. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Effectively using die-cuts and vivid colors, this simple, cunning tale of a determined mouse puts a twist on a familiar round-robin tale (in this case, round-about mouse). One morning, Little Mouse looks out of her tiny hole and sees a big apple, but it's too big to fit into her house. Off she goes to find a bigger one, but house-hunting makes her hungry and she takes a few bites out of the apple. More bites later, when neither Mole's, nor Rabbit's, nor Badger's houses will do, she asks Bear about his cave, but he scares her and she runs off. Suddenly she spies a tiny hole and her apple (now a core) fits in perfectly. Watercolor and cut-paper illustrations by Czech painter Horácek are sprightly, with the die-cuts adding surprises for young listeners who may not get the "no-place-like-home" message from the first reading--but they will by the second or third. Enticing cover, plucky mouse, appealing outing. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
