Review by Booklist Review
It all begins when a tiny mouse finds something remarkable in a wild asparagus patch. It's a fire, so she makes a stove around it (bang bang bang) to mark where the cold does not go. Soon she adds a floor (tap tap tap) where the fox does not chase, a roof (thump thump thump) where the rain does not fall, and, finally, a door to open to weary mouse travelers--a subtle nod to Lady Liberty. The textured-paper collage is easily identifiable as Hall's work, only with a gentle palette of calming pastels instead of his usual bold colors, which works wonderfully for this quiet tale. The soundscaping elements of the house being constructed will lend themselves brilliantly to read-alouds, child participation, and dramatization, and the words themselves are whimsically incorporated into the spreads. But most importantly, continuing with the overt and thoughtful messages of inclusion and creating a safe space, this is a sweet, original, well-structured story about how leading with our warm, welcoming impulses will serve and protect us all.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
When a mouse discovers a "warm and welcoming" flame in an asparagus patch one cold day, she makes the first in a series of life-changing decisions. She starts by capturing the flame's energy: "BANG BANG BANG/ the mouse made a stove// to mark the spot/ where the chilliness wasn't." After encounters with a hungry fox and a rainstorm, she realizes that erecting a structure around the stove would protect her from other threats. Once basic shelter is achieved, she turns, Maslow-like, to cooking food--asparagus soup bubbles on the stove--and extending warmth and welcome to others. The construction theme is a natural for Hall (Swing), who builds his images from simple, bright-colored shapes, starting with his industrious protagonist: Mouse is made from an orange, pizza-slice shape with black circle ears and feature-delineating squiggles (the flame is similarly a model of graphic economy--three simple bright layers). As readers appreciate Hall's graphic inventiveness, they can also ponder how much comfort and company a hearth can provide. Ages 4--8. (May)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2--With the graphic minimalism of a simple group of shapes or the squiggle of a line, a house mouse creates a space that evolves into a house for all. Where she finds the warmth and welcome of a fire, she adds the column of a stove "to mark the spot where the chilliness wasn't." Where the ground seems protected from a fox, Mouse builds the area for the house's floor. Simple text and action verbs accentuated with font changes and angular placements of text invite investigation of images and action each time Hall's triangular Mouse pulls out a hammer from her tool pail and adds to her house. Rain falls in a heavy sheet, rectangular drops that never touch the area of her home's floor, and observant Mouse builds a rooftop that shapes her "peaceful, dry house." A knocking alerts Mouse to build a door, a door she opens to welcome strangers--travelers add their own ingredients to the mix of soup for dinner. Now "it was a welcoming place and the house mouse wanted everyone to know it." As Mouse stands bearing a flaming torch to light the way in the final frame, educators may find a teaching moment about metaphors. VERDICT A suggested first purchase for all libraries, this simple book is a timely addition to titles that encourage social emotional learning as it presents a step-by-step transformation that echoes safety with an enduring welcome and empathy for newcomers.--Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano I.S.D., TX
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Review by Horn Book Review
A story of perseverance and hospitality, Hall's (Red, rev. 1/15; Swing, rev. 5/20) latest follows a hardworking mouse and her home-building journey. It begins when she comes across a wild asparagus patch and finds a "warm and welcoming" flame, around which she builds a tall black stove ("bang bang bang"). An encounter with a hungry fox leads the mouse to lay a yellowy-green tile floor "to mark the spot where the fox wouldn't go"; then a big rainstorm prompts her to construct ("tap tap tap") a brown wooden frame and roof "to mark the spot where the rain wouldn't fall." After days of asparagus soup, she hears a persistent knocking and builds a door "to mark the spot where the knocking had been." Soon she welcomes two mouse travelers into her sheltering abode, where they all enjoy the warmth of vegetable soup and newfound friendship. Hall's use of onomatopoeia and geometric shapes (a triangle for the mouse's body; rectangles for the house's frame and floor) naturally emphasize and extend the construction theme. Vignettes highlighting the protagonist's industriousness are interwoven with double-page spreads depicting cutaway and interior views of her cozy home. Reminiscent of Leo Lionni's work, this tale of a mouse and her house is aglow with tenacity, generosity, and good cheer. Emmie Stuart July/August 2021 p.81(c) Copyright 2021. 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
A story about what isn't yet there…until it's imagined by an industrious mouse! It begins with a house, or perhaps with a warm, welcoming flame, or perhaps with the intrepid journey of a mouse who travels over a hill, across a river, and into an asparagus patch to find a home. But there isn't a home…yet. First the mouse builds a stove around the flame, "to mark the spot where the chilliness wasn't." After an escape from a fox, the mouse builds a floor, marking a space "where the fox wouldn't go." A storm leads to a roof, and soon mouse has her house. A door is built, and unexpected guests fill the house with warm vegetable soup and friendship. Gentle, straightforward text and onomatopoeia recount the mouse's efforts to envision what could be before it is there, learning from experience and creating the bones of a home in the empty space of the asparagus patch. Geometric artwork uses lines in all kinds of forms to evoke the stability of home and the uncertainty of travel; the mouse and her friends are simply yet effectively portrayed, conveying a childlike yet classic quality to the illustrations. A primarily earth-toned palette is peppered with tiny, colorful details throughout. The concentric halos around a candle on a deep blue spread are particularly poignant. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.) A thoughtful tale for engineers young and old. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
