Just the book size and color, in itself, is appealing – especially to girls. So much, that when I went to buy this book my daughter grabbed it out of my hands and began thumbing through the pages. The cover of the book is pink with a cute little girl mouse, named Babymouse. Very hard for girls (and little girls) to resist. I have never been into comic books, although I enjoyed reading the comic pages in the newspaper on Sunday. But, this book drew me in right away, even as an adult.
Babymouse examines the everyday happenings of her life. The entertainment piece is that she provides the reader with her every minute thought. As an adult lady it was easy to feel a connection between myself and Babymouse. The biggest hurdle in her life is dealing with her insecuries. She wants to be popular. What child or adult can’t relate to that? There happens to be a very popular girl at school, named Felicia Furrypaws (the name is also a kid magnet….they would think that is so funny). But, Felicia, in Babymouse’s eyes, is the bomb. Felicia’s whiskers are straight (where Babymouse fight’s to straighten her whiskers each day). Felicia has the whole student body fighting for her attention, and to top it off she is about to have a big slumber party. Babymouse is dieing for an invitation as she endures all of the other kids at school open there invitation up with enthusiasm. However, Babymouse is determined to get one because she feels that this invitation will open up her social world, and the other kids will see how super cool she really is.
Babymouse has a good friend, named Weasel. Sometimes she forgets how important this friendship is to her. Weasel is always there for her. And by the end of the story she realizes how much she truly counts on him and how easy it is for her to be herself around him (without him wanting more than to just be her friend, too).
This whole story paints the picture of life for many young girls. The authors seem to be able to really hit home on some of the most important concerns in a young girls life (popularity, boring class subjects, and what to do on the weekend).
The book was a simple read with a storyline that made me want to find out what was going to happen next. The illustrations work for this book. They were simple and meaningful and the rest was up to the individual reader.
For me, the illustrations are what made me connect and enjoy this book. I didn't realize the impact that illustrations had upon me as a reader. In this book, Mathew Holm is able to use small frames that lead up to a larger one and then I was drawn in to a page without a frame. Which allowed me to connect emotionally. There is an example of this on p. 12-13 when she has a difficult time opening her locker.
ReplyDeleteMy seven year old daughter also picked this book up and couldn't put it down. She wants me buy the rest of the books in this series and I will gladly do that for her. :0)
I agree with you that everyone can probably relate to the book in some way. I am surprised that none of my students have taken this book out of the library to read because it is definitely something they would find enjoyable. You are right that the authors hit many social concerns of young children right on the head. I find it interesting that you found the illustrations to be very helpful in allowing you to make emotional connections with the story. I could relate to the character and the situations she was going through, but as I mentioned in my review--I am not sure that I was as "emotionally" vested. I wonder if kids laugh and find the whole book funny because of the personality of Babymouse, or if they connect on a deeper level with all of the challenges Babymouse faces.
ReplyDelete