A large family of charming mice decorates its Christmas tree together in this pleasant holiday offering with sturdy, cardboard pages and a cleverly designed lift-the-flap and pop-up format.
The mouse father challenges his children to find the family’s 12 golden star ornaments, which the parents have hidden, and Grandma Mouse suggests the mouse children make additional ornaments of their own design. The little mice scatter throughout the well-appointed home to search for the missing golden stars, and in each room there are flaps to lift with clever surprises underneath, including stars on every spread. Cupboards and doors open, a canopy bed pops up and more mouse children appear inside unexpected hiding places. One of the last spreads shows the snowy garden outside, with the family tree waiting in its pot to be transformed with decorations and gifts. Young readers will enjoy lifting the flap that reveals the final golden star, as well as Santa Mouse coming through the garden gate. The concluding spread includes a pop-up Christmas tree decorated with all 12 golden stars and the mouse-made creations. Tiny flaps under the tree open to show the presents for the mouse children, who dance around the tree with their parents in a cozy conclusion.
A simple but real story and charming, polished illustrations of appealing mice elevate this above most holiday stories with a movable format. (Picture book. 2-6)
