Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
From longtime collaborators Willis and Ross (Tadpole's Promise; I Hate School) comes a story about a concerned mother mouse, a misunderstood gorilla and a slightly scary global chase. Searching for her "very, very small" baby who has gone missing, a mother mouse runs right into a hulking gorilla (Ross underscores the beast's Kong-like menace by giving him a blood-red mouth, and its coat brings to mind a particularly sinister thundercloud). Convinced she's being sized up for a snack, the mouse flees, squealing, "Help! Help! He'll catch me!/ He'll squash me and scratch me,/ He'll mince me and mash me,/ And crunch me up for lunch!" This becomes the book's refrain and helps soften the fear factor as the gorilla doggedly pursues the mouse all over the world, which Ross chronicles with wry humor and cinematic gusto. In one scene, the gorilla can be spotted on the horizon of the ocean, paddling his way to Australia; a few pages later, the gorilla catches up to the mouse on the ice floes of the Arctic, where he strikes a pose worthy of Frankenstein. Just as the mouse prepares herself for a gruesome end, the gorilla surprises her with a different finale. A lot of kids will see the punch line coming, but they'll still enjoy seeing it play out, especially with Ross's expansive pastels building the comic tension. Ages 4-8. (June) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-While searching for her lost baby, a mouse is chased by a "great, big, hairy, scary ape!" The gorilla follows her from the rainforest to China, to America, to Australia, and even to the Arctic, yelling, "Stop!" all the way. But the mouse keeps on running, exclaiming again and again, "Help! Help! He'll catch me!/He'll squash me and scratch me,/He'll mince me and mash me,/And crunch me up for lunch!" Young readers will guess what the mother mouse, in her terror, can't see-that the seemingly fierce gorilla is simply trying to return her baby to her. The brief, lively text and the melodramatic refrain make for a humorous and boisterous read-aloud. Ross's bright pastel illustrations capture the mouse's fear and the gorilla's determination with verve. This deceptively simple, satisfying tale is sure to be a storytime hit, and it subtly conveys a great message about prejudices to boot.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Preschool) While a mother mouse searches the rain forest desperately for her missing baby mouse, she is chased by a ""great, big, hairy, scary ape!"" The gorilla keeps yelling at her to stop, but the frightened mouse (""He'll squash me and scratch me, He'll mince me and mash me, And crunch me up for lunch!"") runs from him, literally all around the world. In China, she consults a panda; in America, she confers with a chipmunk wearing a ten-gallon hat. But in the snowy Arctic the gorilla finally catches up with her. Even young children will predict the ending; nonetheless, Ross's pastel illustrations inject dramatic tension. The mother mouse in her polka-dot dress looks tiny next to the enormous gorilla with his huge head, sharp teeth, and humanlike fingers, a genuinely fearsome creature. The mother's ashamed response when she realizes she misunderstood the situation will provide food for discussion about, among other things, judging by appearances alone. (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
This colorful work, rendered in pastels, is another collaboration between the team that made readers laugh at Tadpole's Promise (2005). Here the subject is the suspenseful chase of a mother mouse by a killer gorilla as she searches for her lost baby. The refrain, "Help! Help! He'll catch me! / He'll squash me and scratch me, / He'll mince me and mash me, / And crunch me up for lunch!" is heard throughout as she travels around the world with the gorilla close behind. Ross cleverly introduces a variety of countries, landscapes and transportation, while portraying humorous situations of the native animals. In China, a panda is eating his bamboo dinner with chopsticks, and a chipmunk wearing a ten-gallon hat appears in western America. The expression of the gorilla is especially sweet as he presents the mother mouse with her baby in the Arctic and asks from whom she is running. Utterly embarrassed, she allows the gorilla to carry both her and the baby back home to the rainforest, gently teaching the folly of a rush to judgment. Illustrations are ideal for group readings. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
