Mouse's First Christmas

From Publishers Weekly
Clement C. Moore to the contrary, a curious mouse is indeed stirring in Mouse's First Christmas by Lauren Thompson, illus. by Buket Erdogan, now available in a board book edition. Ages 2-6.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
PreSchool-"'Twas a night still and starry/and all through the house,/not a creature was stirring /just one little mouse." He begins exploring and discovers some of the tasty, visual, and auditory delights of Christmas, from cookies to jingle bells to presents to Santa himself. Children will enjoy the familiar holiday trappings, the endearing mouse, and the warm feeling that is so well captured in the cozy, richly colored oil paintings. The text effectively combines straight prose and rhyme as the mouse explores the Christmas scene. A lovely, simple book for one-on-one sharing or for toddler storytime.-M.W. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Beginning with echoes of Clement C. Moore's "The Night before Christmas," this picture book tells of a little mouse exploring the decorated living room and discovering one mysterious new thing after another. Each find excites the senses: cookies "sweet and sparkly," cocoa "warm and melty," and a tree "tall and prickly." Finally he encounters Santa Claus, who whispers, "Tis your very first Christmas and all through the house no one is loved more than you, . . . little mouse." The appeal to the senses, the urge to explore, and the final reassuring message will strike a chord in young children. The painterly artwork will resonate, too, with its simplicity of images, warmth of colors, and mysterious play of light and shadow. An appealing choice for the very young. Carolyn Phelan


From Kirkus Reviews
Mouse's First Christmas (32 pp.; $12.00; Oct. 1; 0-689-82325-8) Arriving in the snowy avalanche of holiday titles, this book begins with a bit of rhymed play on the beginning of Clement Moore's poem, as Mouse investigates something ``sweet and sparkly,'' a cookie, ``warm and melty'' hot cocoa, and so on through candy, bells, angels, candles, presents, the tree, and finally, Santa himself. The language is either twee or pedestrian, and doesn't really engage readers or onlookers in Mouse's mission. The illustrations are done in thick holiday pigments: reds, greens, blues, and golds; the typeface is occasionally treated playfully. Insubstantial but wrapped prettily. (Picture book. 2-6) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
Now available as a Classic Board Book, this charming story follows Mouse's adventure on a quiet winter night. Mouse finds candy canes on the table, lights on the mantle, and a jolly, red stranger in the chimney. It can only mean one thing!


Card catalog description
While exploring the house on Christmas Eve, a little mouse discovers the tree, a candy cane, a stocking, a jingle bell, and Santa Claus.


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Rich shades of evergreen, cranberry and midnight blue thinly applied to canvas form the inviting backdrop for this tale of a curious young mouse who explores the sensory delights of Christmas Eve, from things that are "sweet and sparkly" (a cookie) to "jingly and glinty" (a jingle bell)--even "whiskery and jolly" (guess who?). Thompson's dynamic phrasing is amplified by Erdogan's large-scale compositions and by the type design ("It was a cookie" is set as a circle; the line "It was a jingle bell" curves like an arc). The debut author and artist make much from a simple premise. Ages 2-6. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.


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