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THE MOUSE WHO ATE THE MOON

This sweet, simple story provides a springboard for talks about shapes and simple fractions—and possibly what other...

Uh-oh, did Little Mouse just eat part of the moon?

One evening, Little Mouse, tucked cozily in her bed, gazes out of her hole—a round, peek-through cut-out in the book’s page—and thinks: “The moon is beautiful...I would love to have my very own piece of the moon.” The next morning she finds a banana just outside her home and believes it’s a piece of the moon fallen from the sky. It smells so delicious that she just takes a little bite...and then another...until there’s only half a banana left. Now Little Mouse worries that because she ate part of the moon, it will no longer be round. Banana in tow, she trudges past her friends, Rabbit and Mole, confessing her crime to them. They reassure her, “Nobody can eat the moon.” But for some people (or mice), only seeing is believing, so Little Mouse’s wise friends coax her out at nightfall to a hilltop, where they see, peeking out from behind jagged cut-paper treetops, the bright, rounded top of the rising moon. By the next page, readers see Little Mouse jumping for joy in her orange-and-yellow stockings at the sight of the full moon. The richly textured, collaged mixed-media illustrations are rendered in deep indigos, spring greens and bright yellows.

This sweet, simple story provides a springboard for talks about shapes and simple fractions—and possibly what other celestial bodies can’t be eaten. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-7636-7059-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

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THE LEAF THIEF

A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors.

A confused squirrel overreacts to the falling autumn leaves.

Relaxing on a tree branch, Squirrel admires the red, gold, and orange leaves. Suddenly Squirrel screams, “One of my leaves is…MISSING!” Searching for the leaf, Squirrel tells Bird, “Someone stole my leaf!” Spying Mouse sailing in a leaf boat, Squirrel asks if Mouse stole the leaf. Mouse calmly replies in the negative. Bird reminds Squirrel it’s “perfectly normal to lose a leaf or two at this time of year.” Next morning Squirrel panics again, shrieking, “MORE LEAVES HAVE BEEN STOLEN!” Noticing Woodpecker arranging colorful leaves, Squirrel queries, “Are those my leaves?” Woodpecker tells Squirrel, “No.” Again, Bird assures Squirrel that no one’s taking the leaves and that the same thing happened last year, then encourages Squirrel to relax. Too wired to relax despite some yoga and a bath, the next day Squirrel cries “DISASTER” at the sight of bare branches. Frantic now, Squirrel becomes suspicious upon discovering Bird decorating with multicolored leaves. Is Bird the culprit? In response, Bird shows Squirrel the real Leaf Thief: the wind. Squirrel’s wildly dramatic, misguided, and hyperpossessive reaction to a routine seasonal event becomes a rib-tickling farce through clever use of varying type sizes and weights emphasizing his absurd verbal pronouncements as well as exaggerated, comic facial expressions and body language. Bold colors, arresting perspectives, and intense close-ups enhance Squirrel’s histrionics. Endnotes explain the science behind the phenomenon.

A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-7282-3520-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021

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