Field Mouse and the Dinosaur Named Sue (Jurassic Park) ANNOTATION
A field mouse finds himself in the Field Museum when the roof of his former home is transported there with the rest of the bones of a dinosaur named Sue.
SYNOPSIS
In the hot, dry hills of South Dakota, a tiny Field Mouse lives a peaceful existence in a burrow beneath an old, sturdy bone. That is, until his life is turned upside down by the intrusion of noisy voices, clamorous clatters, and thunderous bangs!
Leaving his cozy burrow, the mouse ventures outside and discovers a strange group of people chirping, scratching, and hammering all around him. Baffled, he returns to his home, only to find that his roof - his very special bone - is gone!
Determined to recover his bone, the Field Mouse sets out on a search that leads him all the way to the halls of the world-famous Field Museum in Chicago - and face-to-face with a 67-million-year-old dinosaur named Sue.
The true story of the largest, most complete T. rex ever found is given a whimsical treatment in this imaginative storybook. With its breathtaking illustrations, this tale will bring the fascinating story of the dinosaur named Sue to life for children of all ages.
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature
Telling the fascinating story of Sue, the largest and the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil dinosaur yet found, from the point of view of a field mouse is a risky, but possibly a reasonable decision. It is a long story and sustaining a child's interest in the dry bones from their discovery until they become an exhibit in the Field Museum of Chicago was challenging and limiting. It required a cheese sandwich and water in a plastic cup! People have taken away this mouse's home—a bone, and he misses it. He searches bravely, even sliding down the bone of another furless monster. He ventures into exhibits depicting ancient times, naps in closets beside a dust pan, runs from a floor polishing machine, always asking questions about the meaning of Sue. Finally he finds Sue and his bone, his home. Yes, it works. It will find a place among the many dinosaur books that have so captured the fancy of children for the last several years. 2000, Scholastic/Cartwheel Books, Ages 4 to 7, $16.99. Reviewer: Margarette Reid
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2-Field Mouse's peaceful home in South Dakota is disrupted when archaeologists take the bone that serves as his roof to Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History, where the little mouse also ends up after following a cheese sandwich into a packing crate. He gradually adjusts to his new environs and finally finds his bone again in the foot of Sue, the spectacular T. rex now on exhibit. This playful treatment of size, scale, and perspective is just one of this book's engaging features. Field Mouse himself is an endearing character, and the colossal goings-on around him never completely overshadow his own small but important quest, his search for a home. Wahl gracefully weaves facts with fiction, supplying interesting tidbits about prehistoric life. The soft colors and earth tones in the simple, realistic paintings are as straightforward as the conversational text. The human figures are occasionally a bit stiff, but overall the pictures work well. Best of all, both story and artwork keep child appeal uppermost in mind.-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
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