Mouse's First Halloween FROM THE PUBLISHER
Join Mouse on a spooky fall night. He hears bats flying, leaves falling, and children singing, "Trick or Treat!" What can it mean? Find the answer in this sturdy board book edition of the best-selling picture book.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
And new to board book format is Lauren Thompson's Mouse's First Halloween, illus. by Buket Erdogan. To the refrain of "Eeek!"/ Mouse squeaked," Mouse finds reasonable explanations for the scary sounds he hears. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Children's Literature - Sharon Salluzzo
As Mouse crept around one spooky night, he heard several scary sounds. "Flit! Flit! Flit! What could it be?" wondered Mouse. "Swooping bats! That's all. Not so scary after all." Rustling, flipping, plopping and creeping things follow, but Mouse soon discovers these to be innocuous objects or animals. They all relate to fall and Halloween and the litany end up with a group of trick-or-treaters who share some goodies with Mouse. The nighttime setting in dark shades and fuzzy pastels are slightly scary, just enough to set the mood, but not really frightening. The story can be used to reassure kids just beginning to experience Halloween and to teach that many things that may seem scary at first, really are not. First published as a picture book and now available as a board book. 2003 (orig. 2000), Little Simon/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers,
School Library Journal
PreS-Inquisitive Mouse steps out again on a holiday eve. This time it's Halloween night. He hears something flying. "Flit! Flit! Flit! What could it be?" The bright, autumn-hued double-spread answers the question with shadows of bats and just enough black wings to suggest them, thus creating a guessing game for young children. Leaves rustle and tumble, scarecrows flap and wave, apples plop, and trick-or-treaters thump. At each eerie encounter, Mouse asks, "What could it be?" and a visual clue is incorporated into the spread. The answers are printed in shaped text on the following page with a refrain, "That's all. Not so scary after all." The brilliant Halloween tones and sounds of autumn create a chance for spooky language interaction and encourage participation. This author and illustrator make a superb team, and children who liked Mouse's First Christmas (S & S, 1999) will adore Mouse's First Halloween.- Karen Land, Greenport Public School, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A tiny mouse's gently scary investigation of typical Halloween encounters reveals calming answers to worrisome possibilities. " �Eeek!' Mouse squeaked. What could it be?" repeat as easily remembered choral responses as Mouse questions each potentially scary noise. (Something's flitting! Then rustling! Flapping, dropping, sneaking, flickering, thumping!) The dark hues of a spooky night permeate Erdogan's full-bleed illustrations, in which alternate spreads set up fearful situations, only to deflate them into something that's "not so scary after all" with the flip of the page to the next spread. The juxtaposition of the tiny mouse against large, looming objects increases the sense of foreboding. Typographics like the circular display of the word "jack-o'-lantern" or the tumbling letters of "Falling apples" enliven the look of Mouse's second foray into the two-legged world by this author/illustrator team (Mouse's First Christmas, 1999). Plug in a narrator or two, a mouse, movements from creative dramatics, and those repeating refrains, and a read-aloud session for pre-schoolers could spark to life. The book will reassure timorous listeners in both individual and group settings about a meant-to-be-spooky holiday—and perhaps even provide by extension a means of lessening fearfulness in other "scary" situations they encounter. (Picture book. 2-6)
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