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THE MOUSE AND THE MEADOW

Name: THE MOUSE AND THE MEADOW
Author: Chad Wallace

by Chad Wallace ; illustrated by Chad Wallace ; developed by Dawn Publications ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 2014

Complete with a wise old turtle and a motherly bunny, this is charming and accessible science for young naturalists.

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Follow an inquisitive little field mouse as he leaves the safety of his nest and explores the world outside for the first time.

Realistic and with a mouse-eye-view perspective, the interactive illustrations add drama and wonder as he encounters the other animals that inhabit his meadow. They may prove to be helpful or dangerous or simply curious, and they begin to reveal the interconnected ecosystem therein. He meets a very busy bee gathering pollen and learns how that is essential to the overall food supply. He narrowly escapes becoming part of the food chain when he passes too close to a fearsome garter snake, and soon after learning that fireflies use their lights to find mates, he finds himself sitting under the moon with a new mouse friend. Recounted in rhyme and populated with anthropomorphized animals, Wallace’s tale introduces somewhat sophisticated natural science concepts and vocabulary—metamorphosis and chrysalis, for instance—in an appealing storybook format. Interactions aren’t razzle-dazzle but nicely appropriate; tapping the mouse causes him to lean forward and twitch his nose inquisitively, which can’t help but increase readers’ engagement as well. Kid-friendly explanations and additional information about habitat are provided in a separate section at the end of the story.

Complete with a wise old turtle and a motherly bunny, this is charming and accessible science for young naturalists. (iPad storybook app. 5-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2014

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dawn Publications

Review Posted Online: March 30, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2014

- BOOK REVIEW
TALL TALL TREE
by Anthony D. Fredericks ; illustrated by Chad Wallace

- BOOK REVIEW
MIGHTY MOLE AND SUPER SOIL
by Mary Quattlebaum ; illustrated by Chad Wallace

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MOUSE AND THE MEADOW
by Chad Wallace ; illustrated by Chad Wallace

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HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE STARRY NIGHT

From the Henry and Mudge series

by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Sucie Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

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Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 1998

ISBN: 0-689-81175-6

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
HORNBEAM BY AND LARGE
by Cynthia Rylant ; illustrated by Arthur Howard

- BOOK REVIEW
HORNBEAM GETS IT DONE
by Cynthia Rylant ; illustrated by Arthur Howard

- BOOK REVIEW
HORNBEAM ALL IN
by Cynthia Rylant ; illustrated by Arthur Howard

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BECAUSE YOUR DADDY LOVES YOU

by Andrew Clements & illustrated by R.W. Alley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 23, 2005

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Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)