King Mouse

Newcomer Seiferling creates striking, silvery graphite spreads to illustrate this story by Fagan (What Are You Doing, Benny?), a fable about what happens when status turns heads. After a sleek mouse dons a tiny crown he finds in the grass, a bear asks if he is a king. "Yes," the mouse says. "I am." "Hail to the king," the bear promptly replies. In the story's richest sequence, the bear and other animals offer the mouse seeds, then entertain him with a performance ("They rehearsed over and over"). The mouse, for his part, accepts this treatment as his due. But when the other animals find more crowns, all dropped in the grass by a child, they announce that they're royals, too, parading around in a circle of folly: "Long live me!" Only the bear finds no crown, and he wanders away, despondent. The mouse notices, offers the bear a kindly gift, and the two watch the sunset together, pale color entering the spreads as the sun sets and their friendship grows. Fagan develops with dry wit the story of the crowns and the way they skew the animals' judgment, ending the tale on a wistful, affectionate note. Ages 3-7. (Sept.)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 1--In this whimsical tale, Fagan explores the ups and downs of pedestals. One day a mouse comes across an object in the grass. After sniffing and tasting and trying it on his tail, he discovers that it fits quite well on his head. Shortly thereafter, mouse encounters a bear who recognizes the object as a crown and asks the naive creature if he's a king. After a moment's thought, Mouse replies, "Yes, I am" and Bear bows down to him. Before long, King Mouse is hailed by not only the bear but also by a crow, a tortoise, and a fox who happen upon his highness. Mouse's newly minted subjects offer food and entertainment and Mouse soaks up the glory until more crowns are discovered and almost everyone becomes royalty. Young readers will identify with Mouse and his friends as their imaginative play accommodates a newcomer who is also a game changer. The quiet resolution is extremely satisfying and those who want to know where the crowns came from in the first place will appreciate the opening wordless spread. Seiferling's first outing as a picture book illustrator showcases her affinity for creating animal characters with human traits. Her graphite drawings, delicately colored digitally, exude an air of fantasy and perfectly complement this gentle, relatable story. At an inviting and comfortable eight inches square, the trim size is kid-friendly too. VERDICT Fans of Kevin Henkes and Laura Vaccaro Seeger will want to add this to their collections.--Lynn Van Auken, Oak Bluffs School, MA

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

One of the New York Public Library's Best Books for Kids 2019

PRAISE FOR King Mouse:

"Each page is riotous and breathtaking." —STARRED REVIEW, Quill & Quire

"Graceful and perceptive in both illustration and text, the timeless theme is particularly pertinent today." —STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews

"In addition to being a quiet browsing book or a one-on-one reading experience, King Mouse would make a lovely read-aloud for storytelling. Highly Recommended." —CM Magazine

". . . Seiferling creates striking, silvery graphite spreads to illustrate this story. . . . Fagan develops with dry wit the story of the crowns and the way they skew the animals' judgment, ending the tale on a wistful, affectionate note." —Publishers Weekly

"The quiet resolution is extremely satisfying [and the art] exude[s] an air of fantasy that perfectly complements this gentle, relatable story" — School Library Journal

"Highly recommended for classroom, public or personal libraries. This book would make an excellent read-aloud with many possibilities for follow-up projects and discussions." —Resource Links