Review by Booklist Review
Louise Cheese likes the limelight, so when a school play is announced, she's sure she will win the role of Cinderella. To her shock and disappointment, it is her friend Fern who walks off with the leading part, while Louise is cast as a mouse. To add insult to injury, her costume used to belong to one of the three blind mice. Louise gets mad at Fern and no longer wants to participate, but of course, the show must go on, and it does, with a renewed friendship once Louise helps Fern with a dropped line. Primavera's breezy story (sometimes a little too breezy, as the middle gets a bit muddled) and Goode's distinctive artwork intermingle wonderfully. In both story and art, Louise makes a splash as a girl who knows what she wants (stardom!) and sees the future (Broadway!) but can also deal with reality. Goode is at her best here, using a pretty pink palette touched with greens to set the stage for an outspoken heroine. Cue applause.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A bubblegum pink jacket with glittery type will catch the eye of aspiring leading ladies and Fancy Nancy fans. Inside, they'll easily identify with the drama-loving protagonist of Primavera's (Auntie Claus) buoyant tale. Small in stature, Louise is sure that landing the role of Cinderella in her school play is her ticket to Broadway (her motto: "Dream big!"). Alas, her best friend Fern gets that part, while Louise is cast as a mouse, resulting in a spat between the girls. Caldecott Honor artist Goode's (When I Was Young in the Mountains) playful watercolors with whimsical and expressive black outlines capture Louise's mercurial personality, as when the would-be diva holds up the broken tail of her itchy, secondhand mouse costume in disgust, while Fern, in a "frilly pink big-cheese Cinderella ball gown," delightedly rehearses her crowning line. Their friendship is restored in the end, as Louise rescues her pal when Fern freezes and forgets her lines. Hand-lettered dialogue balloons and humor-filled renderings of Louise's show-biz dreams, bursting with pink and magenta, drive home the heroine's larger-than-life outlook. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Louise Cheese dreams of being a big star. She wishes her parents were less ordinary and envies her older sister because Penelope has a big room and lots of shades of lipstick. When her teacher announces that the class is going to put on Cinderella, Louise is convinced that she will get the lead and this will be her ticket to Broadway. Then her friend Fern gets the role, and Louise is cast as one of the mice, thus severing their friendship. When Fern forgets her last line, Louise cues her and all ends happily. The watercolor and ink illustrations are very pink as Louise fantasizes in pink. Dialogue is in word bubbles, and there's a fair amount of text. The cover is pink, with letters that sparkle. This Fancy Nancy look-alike is a nice-enough story but it's been done many times before.-Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI (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
Louise wants to star in the school play and when her best friend, Fern, gets the lead, she stops talking to her. Pink-heavy watercolor illustrations accompany the story, in which the pals are reconciled when Louise feeds Fern a line at a critical moment. The cartoon endpapers are mostly in-jokes for adults. This paper-over-board edition is notable for its bargain price. Copyright 2010 of The Horn Book, Inc. 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
Even second bananas sometimes have their day. Louise Cheese is a little girl with big dreams. She longs for her parents to be movers and shakers. She yearns to dress up and be glamorous like her sister Penelope. And when the time comes for the kids in Louise's class to try out for the school play, she is convinced that she will win the lead role. Instead, she is horrified to discover that her mousey best friend Fern has been given the part while Louise is relegated to being a mere mouse. The resulting spat between friends is resolved when Louise discovers that she can still play an important role in the play, even if it's not the one she initially envisioned. A perfect pairing to Kevin Henkes's Lilly's Big Day (2006), this book presents a protagonist with whom many a mini-diva will be able to identify from page one. Goode's liquid lines and sympathetic characters give the text the pop it deserves. Charming from endpapers to endpapers. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
