Review by Booklist Review
"When three little mice run from a cat, they find a cluster of brightly colored squares, triangles, rectangles, circles, ovals, and diamonds where they hide until he leaves. Soon they are moving the shapes about to create pictures: a house, a wagon, and even a cat. After the real cat pounces, they hatch a clever plan to scare him away. Just as visually appealing as Mouse Paint (1989) and Mouse Count (1991), this little book features simple, elegant page design using cut-and-torn-paper collage figures silhouetted against a clean, white background and framed by a strong black rectangle. Walsh accomplishes her purpose of teaching shapes subtly and playfully through the text and illustrations. Though the statement any shape with three sides is a triangle wouldn't pass muster in a geometry class, it may not raise much concern in the preschool or kindergarten classroom. Parents and teachers can easily extend the lesson and the fun by providing cutout colored-paper shapes for children to play with after the story ends."--"Phelan, Carolyn" Copyright 2007 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Ellen Stoll Walsh's trio of cut-paper mice from Mouse Paint and Mouse Count return once more in Mouse Shapes. Running from the cat, the mice stumble into a pile of shapes from that they build a variety of objects-including "three big scary mice," which the trio uses to scare the cat away. (Harcourt, $16 40p ages 3-7 ISBN 9780-15-206091-6; July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Another concept book by Walsh that has a simple story line and cut-paper collages. When a cat chases three mice, they hide in a heap of colorful shapes and make an assortment of pictures using them. First they use a square with a triangle on top to create a perfect house; later, they add two circles to a rectangle to make a wagon. They finally combine a bunch of shapes to create "three big scary mice" that frighten the cat away. The collage technique works well for distinguishing the brightly colored shapes, and the simple story is pitched perfectly for sharing with the youngest of listeners.-Shelley B. Sutherland, Niles Public Library, IL (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) In this companion to Mouse Paint, etc., a cat chases three brown mice into a pile of brightly colored shapes, and once the cat leaves, the mice amuse themselves by combining the shapes into a house (a square and a triangle), a tree, and so on. They even create their own version of the cat, complete with sharp triangle teeth, and in a funny twist construct big versions of themselves to scare the cat away. Walsh makes the action clear even to very young children by giving the live mice roughly torn edges and the constructed mouse shapes crisply cut ones, all with her characteristic paper collage technique on white backgrounds. Because the mice pretend they are making things, like a wagon, for an imaginary mouse that lives in the first house they created, the layers of reality may be confusing. Still, the shape concept is clearly and attractively presented, and the mice, with their mischievous sense of humor, are an inviting group of playmates. (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
Stoll's signature paper-collaged mice return with another cheerful exposition for preschoolers. This time, a trio--Fred, Violet and Martin--elude the cat by hiding in a pile of bright shapes. Once the threat subsides, the mice manipulate the shapes, chatting it up in a plainspoken play-by-play nicely pitched for young children: "We can make things with them. Here's a square. A triangle on top makes it a perfect house for a little mouse." No sooner do they depict the cat (exercising plenty of artistic license with color and the size of the triangular teeth) than the real beast sends them scurrying again. To turn the tables, they construct "three big scary mice" (clearly crafted to amuse, not frighten preschoolers) dispatching the cat. Stoll's colorful collages appear within white rectangles bordered in black. The crisp layout and well-chosen typography align this volume with Stoll's earlier concept books, Mouse Paint (1989) and Mouse Count (1991). This welcome addition should inspire both kids and grown-ups to create their own shape stories. (Picture book. 2-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
