Combining the simplicity of Harold and the Purple Crayon with the palette of Winnie the Pooh, Arnosky (Watching Desert Wildlife, 1998, etc.) cleverly demonstrates a mouse’s creativity in constructing the letters of the alphabet out of sticks. Mouse ponders, pushes and pulls, tugs and tweaks, coaxing sticks into one of the bends of a B or the curve of a C. Mishaps include a bump on the head after pinging off the letter G; mistakes result in the letter U, then V, as Mouse is resourcefully rescued from a fall. Those accustomed to Arnosky’s precise nature drawings won’t miss the tiny details here, conveyed with a minimum of strokes and a great deal of ingenuity. Wee wit is plentiful in this pint-sized pleaser and its companion, Mouse Numbers (0-395- 55006-8). (Picture book. 1-3)
Pub Date: March 22, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-55386-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
1882
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-689-82979-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1999
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
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