Mousequerade Ball

May 23, 2016
Mortensen (Chicken Lily) and Lewin (the Click, Clack, Moo series) envision a grand ball in a palace, attended entirely by mice—until a cat shows up. In gently cadenced rhymes, Mortensen counts up to 10: when it’s time for music, “Three fine mice in black-tie suits/ tighten up the strings of their thumb-strum lutes,” and the costumed guests that arrive include seven jesters, eight “grand lords,” and 10 “splendid ladies.” All scurry to hide after the dashingly dressed cat arrives, looking a bit like Puss in Boots, but one mouse wisely realizes he’s there to dance, not dine, and the festivities resume. Lewin’s loose, breezy watercolors tap into the blend of elegance and comedy in this diverting animal fantasy. Ages 3–6. Author’s agent: Liza Pulitzer Voges, Eden Street Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties.

May 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 1-The mice are preparing for the Mousequerade ball-and this counting book leads up to the big night. From one small mouse lighting the fire in the great room, to five plump mice slicing cheddar to put atop fine bread crumbs, to seven silly jesters practicing their balancing tricks, the stage is set. With nine buccaneers tipping their ornate feathered hats to the splendid ladies, the ball is about to begin, when "ten feathered ladies fan themselves and gasp-/'CAT!'" The action quickly retreats backward from 10 down to one, as the mice scurry and hide themselves from the dapperly dressed feline. It is the final one small mouse who realizes that the cat, in fact, wants to dance: "Mouse does a curtsy; cat makes a bow./They waltz around the floor, and the mice cheer-/WOW!"

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2016
From one to 10 and back again, the mice get ready for the ball. One lone mouse begins preparations by striking a fire in the grand fireplace. Two others scurry around with brooms to swish the castle clean. "Three fine mice in black-tie suits / tighten up the strings of their thumb-strum lutes." It is time to don a mask and waltz at the Mousequerade Ball. Eight lords twirl their walking sticks with haughty importance, and nine buccaneers tip their elaborate, feathered hats in debonair bows. However, the 10 ladies, dressed in elegant finery, suddenly let out a terrified gasp. Who has arrived at the door but a...CAT! (Alas, the dramatic double-page close-up of the cat's face is sadly, distractingly bisected by the pages' gutter.) Mortensen frantically trips back down the number line as mice scatter to hide: "Six eager mice race beneath a rug. / Five plump mice squeeze into a jug." But the last mouse realizes that the cat has come for the same reason as everyone else. She proffers her little paw, and they dance the night away. The spry toes of Lewin's tiny mice glide along the text's sprightly beat, her signature thick, flowing black line delineating features and finery and lending the rodents personality and movement. It is an enchanting evening to remember (and a fine reminder that even a primary concept can get dressed up). (Picture book. 2-5)

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