Mice skating

Annie Silvestro

Book - 2017

Lucy the field mouse's friends avoid going outdoors in winter until Lucy introduces the delights of skating.

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Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
New York : Sterling Children's Books [2017]
Language
English
Main Author
Annie Silvestro (author)
Other Authors
Teagan White (illustrator)
Physical Description
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 28 cm
ISBN
9781454916321
Contents unavailable.
Review by New York Times Review

Turning the pages of the "Chirri & Chirra" books, imports from Japan, feels like falling into a tiny, exquisite dream. This latest one has a wintertime theme and a mochi-colored palette. The adorableness is off the charts as the rosy-cheeked twins head out on their bikes and find the usual talking animals, sweet treats and other early childhood wish-fulfillment items (marbles, hand-held lanterns, a shelf of colorful books). This outing, on the first day of snowfall, takes them to an ice structure teeming with fun, then on to a cosy igloo for the night. GOODBYE AUTUMN, HELLO WINTER Written and illustrated by Kenard Pak. 32 pp. Henry Holt. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 6) Pak's follow-up to "Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn" once again bids adieu to a departing season and greets the new one, delightfully. A girl and a smaller boy walk through the pages saying hello, heading out of fall scenes and into snowy winter ones, listening as trees, birds and animals explain what they're doing to get ready for the cold. Soon, frost and snowflakes are pointing out their roles in the stunning wintertime scenes. Pak's ethereal digital art creates a wintry mood that somehow combines movement with seemingly endless serenity. THE SNOWBEAR By Sean Taylor. Illustrated by Claire Alexander. 32 pp. words & pictures. $17.95. (Picture book; ages 3 to 6) Waking up to snow, a brother and sister rush outside to make a snowman. It turns out to be more of a snowbear - and thankfully so, because they take off down the hill on their sleds and meet a wolf. Their snow creation saves them, then returns to his spot near the house. Naturally their mom doesn't believe them, but the next morning the snowbear is gone. Did he melt, or... ? The story rides the edge between reality and magic with gentle aplomb; Alexander's loose, free-spirited art makes the magic feel quite possible. MICE SKATING By Annie Silvestro. Illustrated by Teagan White. 32 pp. Sterling. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 3 to 6) Field mice are supposed to spend the winter burrowing and huddling underground, but little Lucy would rather be out in the bracing cold. She can't convince her mouse friends to join her, until she finds a way to get them to follow her to the pond for ice skating. Silvestro's simple story is heavy on cheese puns likely to sail past younger listeners, but White's charming illustrations, with their miniaturist sensibility and cosy wood-toned textures, will have little ones hunting through the pages for details of the field-mouse lifestyle and decor. SNOW SCENE By Richard Jackson. Illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. 32 pp. Neal Porter/Roaring Brook. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 8) This fourth book from the former children's editor Jackson romps around outdoors, its few, coy words inviting readers to look harder at the lovely textured acrylic paintings by Seeger ("First the Egg," Green"), a two-time Caldecott Honor winner. We begin in the deep of winter, when a coat of snow renders everything worthy of a second glance - is that the shadow of a crow? Frost in a girl's hair? Each page turn tells a fuller story. As in life, eventually we're in rich springtime scenes, straightforward as a sunny day. But a final page leaves us, appropriately, with the lingering memory of winter. online An expanded visual presentation of this week's column at nytimes.com/books.

Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [November 12, 2017]
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Lucy the mouse is an outlier: she loves winter-and the wool cap that "kept her heart warm" in addition to her head-but her friends and burrow-mates Mona, Millie, and Marcello plan on hunkering down until spring. After Lucy discovers the magic of ice skating (on homemade pine needle skates, no less), she redoubles her efforts to share winter's magic with her pals. Cream-colored pages make White's mouse-size world all the more charming and snug, and readers will enjoy perusing the details of Lucy's life, such as her sardine-tin bed. Marcello's habit of speaking in puns is cheesy in multiple senses ("Tired of being prov-alone?" he asks Lucy after she's spent another day outdoors by herself), but Lucy's determination and enthusiasm carry the story. Ages 3-up. Author's agent: Liza Voges, Eden Street Literary. Illustrator's agent: Nicole Tugeau, Tugeau 2. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 2-Lucy, a little brown field mouse, loves winter. She loves to frolic in the frosty air, make snow angels and build snowmice. Lucy's three mousy friends huddle in their den with a crackling fire and lots of cheese. She tries to convince her friends of all the great things about winter, such as snowball fights and snow cones, but they would rather wait for warmth and budding flowers before returning outside. One day, Lucy discovers ice skating. She has so much fun that she must figure out a way to share ice skating with her friends. She makes ice skates out of pine needles and knits them warm caps. After giving her friends her handiwork, Lucy and her now knit-capped friends venture outdoors. Lucy skates. She looks like she is flying. Excited, her friends try to skate and after a few wobbles they are all flying across the ice together. Ivory pages filled with watercolor and pencil illustrations of cute dark-eyed mice and wintry scenes will delight children. The illustrations rely on heavy use of black, brown, and green, and spare use of other colors. VERDICT Winter lovers and summertime kids will both be able to enjoy Lucy's enthusiasm for all things frosty. A sweet seasonal offering.-Mindy Hiatt, Salt Lake County Library Services © Copyright 2017. 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 Kirkus Book Review

When readers open up this book the first thing some of them will think is: "Is that real gold?" This picture book seems to be flecked with gold. It might be a trick of the light, or a reflection on the page, but there appear to be golden sparks flickering around the fireplace and golden shoots sprouting in the fields. Gold highlights would destroy most picture books. They'd look gaudy or distracting, but the effect here is so subtle that it might be nothing but readers' imaginations. Gold fits here: the other colors in the illustrations are soothingthey're the natural greens of grass and trees and the pale orange of woodbut they don't look quite real. The titular mice in the story look like geometric patterns rather than woodland creatures. And it's beautiful. The colors glow. The story is comforting but very simple: Lucy wants to go ice skating, but her friends would rather stay indoors, until she knits them warm hats. The plot is so basic that some readers may skim over it and focus on the glowing colors, and that's a perfectly sensible option, because the text is filled with terrible puns about cheese: "Your teeth are cheddar-ing!" Some may flip through this book again and again, not even reading it, just enjoying the pictures and searching for gold. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.