Beach Babe

July 1, 2006
Gr 1-3 -Baby-mouse -s family spends summer vacation at the beach. During boring or difficult times, the young mouse uses her imagination to take her to far more interesting and exciting places. Her younger brother wants to play with her, but, like most big sisters, Babymouse wants nothing to do with him. When he runs away, she realizes how important he is to her, and how much fun they can have. The story moves quickly, and readers are sure to notice that whenever Babymouse has trouble with a character, it is illustrated as a cat. The black-and-white cartoons are highlighted with splashes of pink that become darker when the action intensifies. This book will be popular with young graphic novel fans as well as devotees of the genre in general, especially reluctant readers." -Ronnie Gordon, Brooklyn Public Library, NY"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2006
Gr. 4-6. If Ian Falconer's pig Olivia grew a few years and turned into a mouse, she would be Babymouse. In this third hyperkinetic, pink-washed adventure, as frolicsome and breathlessly paced as the previous two, the squiggly whiskered heroine heads for a family summer on the beach. Packed with the energy of 100 kids, she launches a catastrophic surfing career and tries to keep little brother Squeak out of her fur. Adventurous and refusing to stick to gender-stereotyped pursuits, Babymouse is on the lookout for a partner to share her flights of fancy. A slight penchant for selfishness notwithstanding, before the summer is through, she realizes that the perfect playmate has been sitting right under her pink nose all along. Both story and art take full advantage of the lively possibilities of Babymouse turned loose from school (where teachers educate via the "blah blah blah" method) to explore the larger world with an imagination run wild.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)