MICE by Lois Ehlert

Rose Fyleman's MICE was my favorite poem as a child.  I remember sitting in my footie-pajamas and asking my father to read it one more time.   And I remember later sitting down by myself working to memorize it;  and to this day I still know it by heart. 

What Lois Ehlert brings to this great kid-friendly poem is her wonderful whimsical artwork. In this case a multi-media collage of paper, string and drawings. So you'll get to see the two toothy mice with combs and toothbrushes --the latter obviously one of the ways they keep their teeth so white.

Great read-aloud. Great poem for children to memorize. This book can also be used to inspire an art project. With very young children you could cut out the triangles, teeth and string and let them create a montage of their own.  Older children can do the cutting for themselves.

Pam T
Somewhere in the X-burbs

MICE 
words by Rose Fyleman
art by Lois Ehlert

I think mice
Are rather nice.

Their tails are long,
Their faces small,
They haven’t any
Chins at all.
Their ears are pink,
Their teeth are white,
They run about
The house at night.
They nibble things
They shouldn’t touch
And no one seems
To like them much.

But I think mice
Are nice.”

No reading information
Page Count:  40

• Publisher: Beach Lane Books (October 16, 2012)
• ISBN-10: 1442456841

Maisy Takes a Bath by Lucy Cousins

Maisy runs back
upstairs and gets
undressed.

Maisy jumps into
the bubble bath.

Ding, Dong!
who is ringing the doorbell now?

Hello again, Tallulah!

Believe it or not this one's controversial.

You see, some people were just shocked and/or annoyed that Tullulah kept coming back to Maisy's home when she was trying to bathe. For example, one lady from Turkey writes,

how would you read this book to your valuable one? how could you explain the action of a character forcefully entering your home, taking off her (his) clothes and going in the bathtub with you?

while another one opines,

I am not super conservative or anything but the fact that Maisie answered the door in her towel bothered me. Plus, Maisy answers the door each time, not her mom or dad. Then, her friend runs upstairs and jumps in the tub with her. I just feel like this book wasn't very thought out and may reinforce reckless behavior.

Now, if you are thinking of whipping over to Amazon to defend Ms. Cousins, don't worry. "Joe" has already made this his personal mission. Me? I think I'll remain a neutral party.

Talking Points:::

Maisy Takes a Bath has the same bright colorful artwork that typifies this series from Lucy Cousins.

Controversy aside, there's some useful aspects to this book as it's a wonderful way to revitalize interest in bathtime.

Pam T
Somewhere in the X-burbs

Maisy Takes a Bath

• Reading Level: Unknown
  
• Paperback: 24 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick
  
• ISBN-10: 0763610844

Maisy se bana
(Spanish Edition)

Other Maisy Books you might like:
Maisy's Pool
Maisy Cleans Up
Maisy Dresses Up

Maisy Cleans Up by Lucy Cousins

Maisy Cleans Up came out in 2002, however I just ran across it and wanted to give parents, teachers, and other adults a quick idea of what it's about.

The story opens with a picture of Maisy mopping. She's interrupted by Charlie who's "come for a visit". The text goes on to say, "He can help Maisy clean!" However, he doesn't get down to that right away as he smells cupcakes in the kitchen. He wanders in to view them more closely, but can't because the floor is wet. We're told that Charlie has to wait for the floor to dry, which is when he begins to help Maisy by picking up toys and washing windows. The story ends with a celebratory "good job!" and cupcakes.


I thought there were two useful lessons in this text. The first is, obviously, that cleaning up is something we all ought to do; and the second is that sometimes we all have to wait. As children aren't keen on either of these two activities, I think it's nice that they are given credit and support by such a likable character as Maisy.

I also think the idea of placing a reward at the end of clean-up activities is a good reminder to we adults that small things can provide incentives for children to keep going at tasks they don't particular like. However, I sort of wish that besides eating sweets Maisy nad Charlie had gone for a walk or bike ride. [I know this desire is a little over the top, but there's just so much junk food and sweets out there, and childhood obesity is a real problem. Forgive.]

Talking Points:::
Like all Maisy books, this one features bright kid-friendly artwork that is suitable for the kindergarten and under crowd.

Adults might like it better than kids because it features 'cleaning up' --which if my two are any indication, isn't an activity they want to be reminded of.

I like that "x" talks about how we all have to wait sometimes. I also think the idea of having a treat after cleaning up is a good one. I may try that with my two -- although I have some hesitation in implying that food=treat.

Pam T
Somewhere in the X-burbs

Maisy Cleans Up

• Reading Level: Unknown
• Paperback: 24 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick
  
• ISBN-10: 0763617121

Other Maisy Books you might like:
Maisy's Pool
Maisy Takes a Bath
Maisy Dresses Up

George, the Dragon and the Princessby Chris Wormell

In a far, far away land, there was a castle, a princess, a dragon, and a mouse. The dragon, being like many of his kind, was drawn to the princess, and not in a friendly manner. He wanted to carry her off! And what was to keep him from it. Certainly not the princess' guards. Though they had swords and pikes and armor, the dragon was a great and terrible beast, and the guards were just men after all. And it might have gone very badly indeed, except for George the mouse, who managed somehow to come to the rescue.

The thing that I love about George is that he isn't your standard super-hero. He has the sorts of problems we all do (or at least that I would have if I were a mouse). He gets his tail caught up in his lawn chair, and he burns his cheese sandwiches. However, when it comes to dragons he does a better job than anyone in driving them away. Which is perhaps why my children love this book. George doesn't do everything perfectly, and yet he is a hero.

George, the Dragon and the Princess is simply an adorable book. The story is good and the artwork is GREAT. George is so sweet, with his dark liquid eyes, and there is such a delightful humor underlying each scene.

This one comes Highly Recommended.

THE SKINNY:::
The Accelerated Reading designation for this book is 2.5, which means that the "average" Second Grader in the 7th month of school should be able to read it without having to stop and ask too many questions about what a word means.

The Interest Level is given as K thru 3rd Grade, but personally I think that might be a little too narrow. I see no reason that toddlers and preschoolers wouldn't enjoy it; as well as 9 and 10 year olds. Certainly I'm older than that, and I liked the book alot.

The other things you might want to know about Chris Wormell's book is that it is a very Good read-aloud; and it would make a fine choice for the home bookshelves.

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs


George, the Dragon and the Princess

• Reading Level: 2.5
• AR Quiz #: 128162
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Red Fox
• ISBN-10: 1862301867
• amazon
  

"Far, far away over the high, high mountains, in an old castle wall, in a tiny, tiny hole... there lived a little mouse called George.

Now George, despite the sign above his hole, was not dangerous or fierce at all..."

Town Mouse, Country Mouse by Jan Brett

As near as we can tell, Aesop’s Fables date back to at least the 6th Century B.C. I personally feel that many of these tales are even older and Aesop had probably recorded quite a number of old folk tales from the past. Be-that-as-it-may, this is a rewrite of one of my favorite of Aesop’s Fables. This story has been told and retold in countless languages, in countless countries and it would be almost impossible to find and read them all. I will say though, that with this offering, Jan Brett has done the tradition proud and pretty well proved that what was good in the 6th Century B.C. is good today!

In this story, we have the Town Mouse and his wife and the Country Mouse and his wife that, after a chance meeting, decide to trade places. You all know the story, and if you don’t, I don’t want any spoilers here, so I will not give a blow by blow rundown on the adventures of these four in their new environment.

What sets this particular version apart from so many others though, is the art work. I cannot remember a children’s book that was so well illustrated and to be frank, so interesting. The author alternates, page by page from Town Mouse back to Country Mouse. At the side of each illustration we have a sort of preview of what is going to happen next. This is not a “copy” of an upcoming page, but rather a general view of what might be. Once the child (and parent or grandparent catches on, this can be quite fun). But back to the art. The only way I can describe it would be Victorian. It is vivid, detailed, colorful and just down right interesting. The way the author has humanized the various critters does not come across as phony at all, and actually looks quite natural is a stage sort of way. I could safely say that most people could read and look at this book twenty or more times and each time find some detail they have never seen before with previous readings. Each page is a visual adventure; each page is an absolute delight. Now this does not mean this work does not have a strong and well written text. Far from it! The story flows well, is easy on the eye and the story is quite understandable to the targeted age group which would probably be kindergarten through third or fourth grade.

The obvious lesson learned from the story is to be happy with where you are, stop complaining and count yourself lucky you have what you have. What is nice about this work though, is that the adult reader can get much more mileage out of this than just the moral of the story. This is an ideal book to help children learn to really observe and look for details. It will be obvious after several readings, even to the little ones, that there is more to see if you just take the time to look. Absolute hours of discussion can be had just talking with the child about the different things seen on each and ever page.

This particular publication dates back to 1994. Let’s hope it is with us many, many more years.

Considerations :::
Town Mouse, Country Mouse by Jan Brett an Accelerated Reading (AR) designation of 4.0 which means that the average Entering 4th Grader should be able to read it without getting frustrated by the vocabulary. It can be read aloud to any age.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks


Town Mouse, Country Mouse

• Accelerated Reading level : 4.0
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (January 2003)
• ISBN-10: 069811986X
• Take-a-Peek
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