Mouse and Mole, Secret Valentine

October 14, 2013
In their seventh outing, Mouse and Mole are seriously in love, even if Mouse doesn’t know it yet. When Mouse receives a “secret valentine,” her head is so much in the clouds that she walks into a lamppost. And she’s so busy trying to determine the identity of her admirer that she doesn’t pay attention to the butterflies she feels whenever she’s with Mole. After a romantic dinner and a rendezvous befitting a rom-com, the two animals seal their love with a dance. Yee creates a punchy story arc over the story’s four chapters and charming pencil and gouache spot illustrations. This romp of an early reader acknowledges that a first crush can feel every bit as momentous as a more long-term love. Ages 6–9.

October 1, 2013
Mouse and Mole are best friends, but with Valentine's Day coming soon, each has a peculiar feeling of butterflies in the stomach when thinking of the other. Could their relationship be changing in this season of love? As Valentine's Day nears, Mouse and Mole get together to decorate cards. Mouse is good at making a list of friends and writing the words, while Mole's specialty is cutting out paper hearts and sprinkling glitter over glue to create a sparkly message. When the buddies go out to deliver the cards, Mole forgets his hat and tells Mouse he'll catch up. Then during lunch, Mole must go find the waiter to alter his order. After each absence, Mouse receives a surprise from her "secret valentine." While she tries to find out who it is, Mole creates a most romantic gift, with chocolates, rose petals and an invitation to the Valentine dance. Mouse comes home to discover it and its special message just in time. Yee masterfully builds delicious anticipation throughout the four chapters. His spot illustrations in litho pencil and gouache not only evoke scenes of tender friendship, but also cue readers on the pacing and the new vocabulary they are encountering. Rush out and treat newly independent readers to this heartwarming tale that brings a satisfying end to the arc of Mouse and Mole's relationship. (valentine instructions) (Early reader. 6-9)

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October 1, 2013

K-Gr 2-Mouse lists friends to make cards for for Valentine's Day, realizes that Mole is her best friend, and gets "a funny feeling inside-like butterflies in her stomach." As Mole takes out art supplies, he thinks, "Valentine's Day is about love" and experiences "butterflies in his stomach" and a flushed face. Mole teaches Mouse how to cut a heart shape from paper and enhance letters with glue and glitter, and Mouse writes words on the cards. While she receives anonymous valentines and wonders who sent them, she wishes that Mole would ask her to the Valentine's Day dance. She discovers an invitation that someone has placed beneath rose petals in a box of chocolates, asking her to be at the party at four. When she arrives, she discovers that Mole is her "secret valentine," and "together, they stepped out onto the dance floor." Detailed pencil and gouache illustrations set the stage and capture the action. Directions for making a valentine are included. This heartwarming, early chapter book unfolds with perfect pacing, and every word advances the plot, provides information, or delivers humor. A delightful addition.-Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI

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