GREAT BIG THINGS

The huge world can be overwhelming to a tiny mouse unless it is determined to fulfill a quest.

Readers have no idea what that quest is until the very end as they follow the mouse through vast global locations, sometimes not seeing it at all, sometimes catching a glimpse in a corner or among rocks or in the sea, or on an old-style steam locomotive, or perhaps on a jet flying overhead, and always carrying and carefully protecting a large crumb. Under star-filled night skies, through sunrises and sunsets, the mouse travels over all manner of Earth’s landforms and waters. Klocek’s graphite-and-digital illustrations are stunning in their scope and visual impact. Double-page spreads of deep canyons, endless deserts, rivers and waterfalls, forests and oceans, and ice fields beautifully capture the mouse’s challenging journey. A few, very faint, vaguely drawn map details with a red line indicating the mouse’s progress occasionally appear; as there is not always enough detail to read them, readers may find them more distracting than illuminating. Single lines of large-print text name the sights, moving the brave mouse to its destination with a breathless and greatly admiring and encouraging tone. But those big things seem small because it’s all about the love and commitment that make the dangers and difficulties worthwhile.

A gentle, sweet read-aloud that will need grown-ups to help very young readers grasp the philosophical concepts.