Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Collicott's (Toestomper and the Caterpillars) cheery I Can Read Book introduces an endearing mouse couple living in a small hollow beneath a crop of daffodils. While Sam is content with their cozy home, Mildred is "fidgety" and fears that their abode isn't large enough. "There is no room for visitors," she tells Sam. In the first of the tale's three chapters, the duo's outings (a climb up an oak tree, a picnic on a lily pad, a tea-and-cookies repast in a rose thicket) lead Mildred on each occasion to ask, "Wouldn't it be nice to live here?" Sam's levelheaded responses (e.g., "But there is no door to keep us safe from the great owl," he says of the oak tree) inspire Mildred to dream whimsical scenarios, vividly portrayed in enchanting illustrations. (a painting of the owl carrying the couple skyward also reveals their tool for escape-an umbrella with which to parachute down). Mildred's dreams in the second section-which spring from her efforts to plant a garden-take on outlandish, decidedly child-pleasing proportions. Finally, the reasons for Mildred's "fidgeting" and nesting instincts are revealed: the couple welcomes eight new additions to their burrow-the payoff for Sam's feverish digging (to provide "plenty of room for visitors-just in case"). A well-balanced narrative with plenty of judiciously repeated phrases, plus fetching graphics, make this a fine choice for beginning readers, who will want to find out what happens to the mouse family next. Ages 3-7. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Mouse parents Mildred and Sam send their children off to Mrs. Sunnyseed's class, where they experience show-and-tell, take a field trip, and learn about planets. The topics are presented in three short chapters, and the soft-hued illustrations are appealing. However, the story is tinged with worry. Though Sam reminds his wife that "It is not that far," Mildred frets each time her children embark on a new adventure. Collicott plays up the fear factor by employing a peculiar device. Repeatedly, the mice children share a single dream in which they must confront threatening animals, such as an oversize moth, an enormous frog, and sky kittens, which put an end to imagined journey. Instead of focusing on children adjusting to school, this is a hovering-parent tale.-Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT (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
Mouse Mildred feels that her burrow is too small. After her husband, Sam, notes the risk at each new spot that she suggests (e.g., an owl will get them if they move to a tree), Mildred has a scary corroborating dream. Finally, Sam enlarges their burrow--just in time to become a father. Despite a strange Freudian detour about a mysterious packet of seeds, the story, featuring delicate illustrations, is coherent and satisfying. From HORN BOOK Fall 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Over three short chapters, Mildred and Sam the mice send their brood off to school, on a field trip to the pond and on an imaginary trip to Saturn. Each chapter is punctuated by the little mice's dreams: a show-and-tell caterpillar who turns into a moth; a tadpole who turns into a frog; the sky kittens who live on Saturn. The gentle tales unfold in developmentally appropriate language, but it's a pity the theme of metamorphosis developed in the first two chapters doesn't extend into the third. The bland illustrations are at their best during the dream sequences. (Early reader. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
