House Mouse

A thoughtful tale for engineers young and old. (Picture book. 4-7) 

When a mouse discovers a "warm and welcoming" flame in an asparagus patch one cold day, she makes the first in a series of life-changing decisions. She starts by capturing the flame's energy: "BANG BANG BANG/ the mouse made a stove// to mark the spot/ where the chilliness wasn't." After encounters with a hungry fox and a rainstorm, she realizes that erecting a structure around the stove would protect her from other threats. Once basic shelter is achieved, she turns, Maslow-like, to cooking food--asparagus soup bubbles on the stove--and extending warmth and welcome to others. The construction theme is a natural for Hall (Swing), who builds his images from simple, bright-colored shapes, starting with his industrious protagonist: Mouse is made from an orange, pizza-slice shape with black circle ears and feature-delineating squiggles (the flame is similarly a model of graphic economy--three simple bright layers). As readers appreciate Hall's graphic inventiveness, they can also ponder how much comfort and company a hearth can provide. Ages 4-8. (May)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

K-Gr 2--With the graphic minimalism of a simple group of shapes or the squiggle of a line, a house mouse creates a space that evolves into a house for all. Where she finds the warmth and welcome of a fire, she adds the column of a stove "to mark the spot where the chilliness wasn't." Where the ground seems protected from a fox, Mouse builds the area for the house's floor. Simple text and action verbs accentuated with font changes and angular placements of text invite investigation of images and action each time Hall's triangular Mouse pulls out a hammer from her tool pail and adds to her house. Rain falls in a heavy sheet, rectangular drops that never touch the area of her home's floor, and observant Mouse builds a rooftop that shapes her "peaceful, dry house." A knocking alerts Mouse to build a door, a door she opens to welcome strangers--travelers add their own ingredients to the mix of soup for dinner. Now "it was a welcoming place and the house mouse wanted everyone to know it." As Mouse stands bearing a flaming torch to light the way in the final frame, educators may find a teaching moment about metaphors. VERDICT A suggested first purchase for all libraries, this simple book is a timely addition to titles that encourage social emotional learning as it presents a step-by-step transformation that echoes safety with an enduring welcome and empathy for newcomers.--Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano I.S.D., TX

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"When a mouse discovers a 'warm and welcoming' flame in an asparagus patch one cold day, she makes the first in a series of life-changing decisions. . . . The construction theme is a natural for Hall, who builds his images from simple, bright-colored shapes . . . As readers appreciate Hall's graphic inventiveness, they can also ponder how much comfort and company a hearth can provide."—Publishers Weekly