Customer Reviews

Babymouse #5: Heartbreaker

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I saw a volume of Babymouse in NYC last year and I was intrigued by it, so I figured I would eventually pick up the other volumes sometime. I managed to get a bundle of five books online, one of them being the "Heartbreaker" issue. I'm kind of reviewing the series as a whole (from what I've seen so far) and not just this particular volume. I just really like everything going on in these books - the conflict between Babymouse and Felicia, seeing how a young girl's imagination is at work when she daydreams all the time (reminiscent of the old cartoon "Doug," only good), the issues a young person may face on a regular basis, and the lessons a young person may have to learn the hard way. But what I really like the most is how Babymouse and the narrator interact. It's such a simple action, but it's just really neat. I've never seen that done before in a comic or graphic novel and I thought it was pretty creative.

Also love the color palette. The art style is by no means anything beautiful - it's pretty simple, but I think that just goes to show that the artwork in a graphic novel doesn't need to be gorgeous in order to tell a story and make a point. I know this is aimed at kids, but screw the kids; personally, I think this is a fun series overall and it's something an adult may enjoy too.

And as a final note, from what I can tell, this is not a continuous story. It's like a bunch of episodes that don't follow a pattern, so if you pick up a later volume, it's okay. You won't need to buy the other 10 volumes to understand the plot because there's a new story to tell in each book.

Babymouse is smart, sassy, and sometimes wrong.... just exactly what every little girl knows about herself. The Babymouse series is entertaining -- fascinating, actually -- for children from 2nd grade through 5th, at least, and perhaps beyond. Though it's a series beloved by little girls (with one exception, the illustrations are done in shades of pink and gray), little boys have been known to sneak a peek. These are graphic novels for the younger set. Highly recommended.

I bought this for my daughter. She does not like to read but she loves to read the BabyMouse books. We have #1-4 and they were all very entertaining. BabyMouse is at her funniest when she daydreams. Great books for the entire family!

Here is a typical day in my library. I set out four or five copies of the newest "Babymouse" series around 10:00 a.m. on the graphic novel shelf. Around 11:00 a.m. a patron of the girl-like persuasion will ask if we have any copies of "Babymouse" in. With falsely swelled head I will lead the patron to the place I last put the series, only to find every single last stinking copy is gone gone goneski. I'm trying to give you some kind of an idea of just how popular this series has proved to be. Whether your patron is a newbie to the series and wants, "Babymouse: Queen of the World", or has read every last single installment in the series up to "Babymouse: Rock Star", I can assure you that if you purchase, "Babymouse: Heartbreaker", you're simply setting yourself up to loose your copy to a fanatic fan pronto. Are you a librarian desperately in need of higher use stats? Meet the solution to all your woes. In this particular book in the series we see our plucky heroine doing what she does best. Eating cupcakes (though not as many as she might have), thinking about boys in an off-hand fashion, and dreaming up impossible fabulous dreams.

It's Babymouse's faaaavorite holiday of all time. Can you guess what it is? Here's a hint: It involves pink. That's right. Valentine's Day is nigh and Babymouse has a lot on her mind. For one thing, it seems that her elementary school is having a dance and trusty standby Wilson is going with someone else. Suddenly Babymouse needs a date, but nobody is coming to mind. Either everyone's already taken or they're not interested in going. Even the creature that lives in her locker is giving her grief on the subject. In the end, Babymouse decides to go to the ball all by herself. Fortunately for her, there's somebody there who thinks she's absolutely fabulous. Someone she may have overlooked (or vice-versa).

I think part of the reason I love the "Babymouse" books as much as I do is that they've converted me to pink. I used to think that pink was a girly color. In the 1980s I was all about the hot pink (preferably paired with electric blue or just black) and even had a Pogo Ball in that color. Then I got older and eschewed my earlier love of the shade. Now the team of Holm & Holm have come up with a way of making me love pink all over again. And unlike other children's books of limited palettes (like the "Olivia" books, for one), at no point does Matthew Holm betray me and introduce another color like, oh say, electric blue. There's also the fact that when it comes to the art, "Babymouse" books are misleadingly simple. They look easy enough. But as you can see by "Heartbreaker", there's a fabulous moment when Babymouse has a crises of confidence and the page is just of her curled up from a distance with the only light a pinkish hue crosshatched through her bedroom window. It's pink noir at its finest.

Why You Should Buy This Book: In one of her dream sequences, Babymouse is dancing with Duckie on a dance floor. Duckie, at the same time, is saying (and I am not making this up), "Nobody puts Babymouse in the corner". Come ON, people! How can you resist that? And did I mention the peculiar fact that in her fantasies Babymouse sometimes ends up as a guy? When she decides to go to the dance by herself she suddenly envisions a "Gone With the Wind"-type situation in which one character is Scarlett O'Hara and Babymouse is, oddly enough, Rhett. I'd say that raises the bar on original characterizations, wouldn't you?

As with the other "Babymouse" books, there are the old standbys. Cupcakes. A snarky narrator who discusses various situations with our heroine. Dream sequences ah-plenty. And, of course, the locker creature who gets quite a lot of page time in this book. In the end it doesn't matter if this is the first Babymouse book a kid reads or the last. It'll definitely whet their whistle for future installments. Babymouse forever!

"Babymouse: Heartbreaker" is No. 5 in the rockin' Babymouse series.

Young Babymouse is at it again--daydreaming, struggling with her locker, and trying to fit in with her peers at school.

This time, however, in the fifth installment of the Babymouse series, the Holms have thrown the worst of school indignities--the school dance--Babymouse's way.

A school dance leads to plenty of good daydreaming. Cinderella, handsome princes, makeovers, spectacular feats on the dance floor. It also leads to plenty of real life heartbreak when a "Glamourmouse" makeover fails and no one asks Babymouse to the dance.

Now what I really love about the Babymouse series is that Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm don't reach for the easy solutions. And, they don't pander to their audience by choosing romantic, cliched endings. Instead, an off-panel voice suggests to Babymouse that she might ask someone to the dance. And she gives it a go. And FAILS, as one might fail in real life. Then, an off-panel voice suggests she attend the dance by herself. Babymouse scratches her head and says, "Myself? I can do that?" Yes, she can and does. You go, girl! (Or, er, mouse.)

My favorite parts of the Babymouse books are always those set in school. In this Valentine's Day offering, we're told "School was not a very romantic place" and Matthew Holm's characteristic pink and black panels show glum-looking "children" getting off the bus, hands on backpack straps. Indeed. At least there's Babymouse to brighten the day. Every school library should have multiple sets.

Babymouse is an indomitable girl mouse who attends school (apparently early middle school) with a variety of other animals and has an adoring younger brother at home. Babymouse also has a rich fantasy life and a wry sense of humor. She has contentious relationships with the monster in her locker and with the narrator of her stories.

As this installment begins, Valentine's Day is approaching. Babymouse dreams of romance - flowers and candy and cupcakes and "cute heart outfits". When she learns that her school will be having a Valentine's Day dance, she puts all of her optimism and energy into getting a date. The results, sad to say, are less than impressive.

Even in her own fantasies, Babymouse is the kind of girl who falls when running down the steps of the palace at midnight and, bruised and battered, mutters "Typical". She kisses a frog, and he turns into ... a snake. She tries to become more feminine, with make-up and freshly curled whiskers, and she looks ridiculous. Even her own "mirror mirror on the wall" laughs at her.

Babymouse has to watch all of the other girls get dates, while there is, apparently, no one for her. But the thing about Babymouse, the thing that makes her stories so worth buying for all of the 7 to 10 year old girls in your life, is that she never quits. And in the end, she triumphs.

As in the other books, the illustrations (all pink and white and black) are hilarious. My favorite from this one is after Babymouse has her makeover. There's a random picture of space creatures, in a spaceship, watching video from earth. And one of them is lying on his back, feet high in the air. The caption is "I don't know, Commander - he was looking at something on Earth and he just fell over." And you see a tiny picture of Babymouse, on the viewscreen, looking dejected. It's priceless! There's also an amusing riff on the movie Dirty Dancing (I'll bet if you think about it for a minute, you can guess).

Underneath the over-the-top graphic novel format, Babymouse: Heartbreaker tackles issues that every girl can relate to. Who hasn't wanted to be invited to a school dance, but not been asked? Who hasn't daydreamed about receiving flowers, cards and chocolates, but gone home empty-handed? But Babymouse doesn't give up, and neither will her readers. This installment of the series is a must-read for Babymouse fans. And if you know any young girls out there who aren't familiar with Babymouse, I ask you to think seriously about introducing her to them. Happy Valentine's Day!

This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on February 12, 2007.