Customer Reviews

House Mouse, Senate Mouse

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a cute book that was very well written. My son likes the mouse story and giggles every time I read it to him. It features "The Senate Mousejority leader and the Sqeaker of the House". Parents that are in to politics will get a good laugh out of reading this one.

As a teacher, I love the way they presented the concept of how a bill becomes a law. However, as a mother, I find it becomes confusing for a preschooler when you use terms such as "Squeaker" of the House instead of "Speaker" and "Mouse-jority" Leader. A great book, definitely worth the buy, but if your child can't read yet, use the real terminology to avoid confusion.

I purchased this book for my grandchildren. Although it is a little old for them now, I know they will be interested in it in about a year or so. It is very informative about an important part of our goverment.

This book is fairly well done, but treats an enor-mouse-ly complex subject very simply (by necessity, of course). Despite it's simplicity, it still seems too complex for the age bracket it is aimed at (4-7 years). The drawings are adequate, but there are some perspective problems. The rhymes are adequate, but tortured in places. This book would seem to be either a great primer if you plan to take your children to Washington DC or a great souvenir of a trip there. As a lesson of how government works, I am a little more dubious. The great value of the book is the connection of system with place (such as committee room or house floor), not as a lesson of how the system works. The separation of representatives and the people is also a bit disconcerting, from a Jeffersonian point of view. The story would have been improved if the students that developed the idea of a "national cheese" would have been allowed to follow their idea through the process, rather than just send a letter and see the results on TV. Senator Thurmouse, well, that's just downright spooky.

A fun book -- useful in/out of classrooms ... probably some members of Congress could use it to better understand their responsibilities.

How a Bill becomes a Law has never been this easy to grasp.

When I was growing up, we had "Well, I'm Only a Bill..." (with a wailing, bluesy tune), but this book is memorable and fun for today's kids.

In the first place, the illustrations are a knock-out - Cheryl Shaw Barnes has illustrated each page as an actual place in Washington, DC, and the details are amazing. I am an illustration fanatic, and these are good ones.

In the second place, the text (which RHYMES) is very easy to understand. The book is fine for a second-grade reader, but kids at higher reading levels will get it, too. The illustrations make it not too ... ahem... cheesy, if you will forgive the mouse pun - the book is utterly enjoyable.

It's a keeper.

I purchased 1100 copies of this book for my local High School's civics class thinking that it was about the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 that passed through the House by a narrow margin. Caveat emptor.