Mole and Mouse are best friends. They are so close, in fact, that they share everything. The strength of their relationship is challenged, though, after Mouse shares a story with Mole. One summer evening as they are stargazing, Mouse explains the magic of falling stars. If you are lucky enough to ever find one, he tells Mole, your wishes will be granted. Just then a star shoots across the horizon, and Mouse and Mole scurry after it, both claiming ownership. Thus begins their strife caused by greed. As their search for the fallen star proceeds, so does their mistrust for each other grow. Believing the other has the star, they go so far as to snoop in one another’s home. The summer is nearly over as the alienated friends become more and more lonely and miserable. They begin to wish the star had never come between them. That wish comes true as Mouse and Mole learn lessons about generosity and the importance of friendship, saying, “Anyway, we don’t need a star. We have each other.” Pencil and watercolor artwork enhances each satin-soft page with a palette ranging from pale pastels to vibrant primary colors. Mouse is a friendly white and pink, while mole stands out in a rich orange-brown. A cautionary tale that hits its mark gently and accurately. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: July 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-525-46880-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2002
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
The can’t-miss subject of this Step into Reading series entry—a unicorn with a magic horn who also longs for wings—trumps its text, which is dry even by easy-reader standards. A boy unicorn, whose horn has healing powers, reveals his wish to a butterfly in a castle garden, a bluebird in the forest and a snowy white swan in a pond. Falling asleep at the edge of the sea, the unicorn is visited by a winged white mare. He heals her broken wing and she flies away. After sadly invoking his wish once more, he sees his reflection: “He had big white wings!” He flies off after the mare, because he “wanted to say, ‘Thank you.’ ” Perfectly suiting this confection, Silin-Palmer’s pictures teem with the mass market–fueled iconography of what little girls are (ostensibly) made of: rainbows, flowers, twinkly stars and, of course, manes down to there. (Easy reader. 4-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2006
ISBN: 0-375-83117-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
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