Young children will identify with the little mouse who documents his fears in the pages of this book from loud noises and the dark to being sucked down the plughole. Original and innovative, with flaps, die-cuts and even a hilarious fold-out map, this is another extraordinary picture book from the creator of WOLVES, winner of the 2005 Kate Greenaway Medal and Nestle Award Bronze Medal.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 4—A tiny mouse and his gigantic fears collide in this humorous creation. This handbook dramatically states, "A fear faced is a fear defeated," and encourages the fainthearted to conquer their fright through writing, drawing, and collage. Spare text and delightful illustrations chronicle this nervous rodent's journey. From ablutophobia, the fear of bathing, to sciaphobia, the fear of shadows, the striking mixed-media art captures the humorous adventures of the white mouse and his red pencil. The pictures emphasize shadow and light, pitting the winsome rodent against some of the scariest and most exotic phobias. Unusual elements abound through a hodgepodge of folded maps and newspaper clippings; varied perspectives and dominant figures feature a cameo by the Three Blind Mice and a dramatic retelling of "Hickory Dickory Dock." With nuanced facial expressions, the mouse scurries through each textured spread against warm cream-colored backgrounds; his actualization reveals a delightful conclusion. Through one-on-one sharing or personal perusal, readers will clamor to relive this small hero's adventures.—Meg Smith, Cumberland County Public Library, Fayatteville, NC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Little Mouse lists his fears—ablutophobia (fear of bathing), phagophobia (fear of being eaten)—and many others. The phobias are illustrated with mixed-media images including artfully torn pages, lift-the-flaps, and foldouts. Each spread examines two fears, giving the Latin name, definition, and icon in the upper left of each page, along with a small-typeface invitation to use the space below to record your fears. Putting aside obvious problems that result from inviting children to write in books, this tale has heart provided by the whisker-trembling expressiveness of Little Mouse. Nibbling pages and pencils are Little Mouse’s coping mechanisms, but cope he does, encouraged on the last spread by a woman who suffers from musophobia (fear of mice) standing on a chair: I’m afraid of nearly everything I see. But even though I’m very small . . . she’s afraid of me! Some of the clever addenda may pass younger readers by, but adults and older readers will appreciate the word-and-image play. Encouraging children to face their anxieties can be a fearsome endeavor; this may be just the ticket. --Janice Del Negro
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More About the Author
Emily Gravett is the author and illustrator of Spells, The Odd Egg, Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears (winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal), Monkey and Me and Meerkat Mail. Her first book, Wolves, was the winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Award for Illustration. Her second book, Orange Pear Apple Bear, a Quills Award finalist and on the shortlist for the Kate Greenaway Medal, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year. Emily lives in Brighton, England, with her partner, their daughter, and the family dog.
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
More like a work of art than a book, challenging for children,
By
This review is from: Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears (Kate Greenaway Medal (Awards)) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
It is really difficult to figure out what this book is. It's not the type of book that you necessarily sit down and read; it's the type of book that you appreciate for its visuals and its subtle play on words with images. I seem to enjoy the book much more than my daughter, so I'm not even sure it can be classified as a children's book.
Each page is devoted to a fear, using the lengthy scientific term for the fear. It explains what the fear is, and then the page contains images, items, or text associated with that fear, from the perspective of the mouse. Some of the images are very abstract, and therefore most children would miss the fun play-on-words present in this book. My daughter, who is 7, was shocked by the page devoted to "fear of knives", which used the nursery rhyme "Three Blind Mice" to get the point across. There's a lot on that page, though, and plenty to look at, but not necessarily appropriate for younger children. In fact, parts of this book are so abstract that it's hard to determine what age range is appropriate -- it depends on the child and how much that child can appreciate art. The book, however, is a work of art, and I'm personally impressed. Some of the pages are cut specifically to match the artwork - so you can view an image on the page underneath, for example. One page has a hole punched through it, while another has edges or corners cut off. On other pages, there are additional pieces pasted to the pages -- postcards, newspaper clippings, maps, etc. A map in particular is fascinating, extremely detailed, and entertaining -- it looks like a map of England, but instead is a map of a mouse, where body parts and organs appear as cities, roads, and islands. All of the artwork brings the book together -- and after a while, you may actually start to feel like you are reviewing somebody's journal, treating it with care as you turn the pages and unfold some of the attached items. The book's pages are extremely thick and should resist wear. Although I enjoy this book, I don't think it is something my daughter will pick up on her own. It's really the type of book that you share -- pointing out to each other the odd things that appear on the pages. It could use more text and a bit more dialogue, and therefore remains just an interesting concept.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a tour de force-- fabulous illustration, truly unique story for children and their parents,
This review is from: Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears (Kate Greenaway Medal (Awards)) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
The premise of this book is that a little mouse has found a human's self-help workbook related to dealing with your fears. The little mouse tries to use the workbook to help herself. She is afraid of a lot of things, since she is so tiny and vulnerable (cats, owls, dogs, spiders, shadows, etc.).
Each page of this book is clever, gorgeous, funny, and sweet. The illustrations are so rich and imaginative, and the premise so unique, that I think this has to be considered one of the best children's books of the year. This book is full of cool foldouts, lift the flaps, and hidden interesting drawings and facts. My favorite thing about it is the way it can be shared between parent and child- there is much to talk about on each page, so it can be a really sharing, snuggle up sort of experience. The sweet, incredibly expressive, and VERY endearing little mouse provides a wonderful way to talk about feelings (and help kids build empathy, learn to deal with their own feelings, etc.). Inevitably, some parents will try to read this to toddlers and will be unhappy with the result. But this is a wonderful book to share with the older picture book set. (If your child isn't old enough to get the basic concept of the book outlined here/understand that mice are timid and that a little mouse is trying to overcome her fears, wait a couple of years and then share the fun!) In the end, the nifty "workbook" helps the mouse express her feelings creatively. She gets a little perspective when she notes that an enormous human is sometimes afraid of her! Absolutely unique, satisfying, interesting, smart, witty, beautifully illustrated... this is a great book. Emily Gravett is one of the major talents in illustration today. This beautiful book is lots of fun-- an incredibly creative effort. ******************************************************** I've just looked through the new reviews, and noticed that several of the reviewers completely missed the point of this book and thought that the author was encouraging children to write in the book! :) Again, the whole point is that the little mouse has found a blank self-help book, and the MOUSE fills the book in herself. :)
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love the interactivity/real world definitions/illustration,
This review is from: Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears (Kate Greenaway Medal (Awards)) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This is a fantastic, creatively designed book! The little mouse mentions every-day things that it would be afraid of (cats, dogs, people+), and at the top of each page there is a real definition of certain fears. The illustrations are very well done with a mix of photographs, sketches (which are fantastic), and 3D pull outs (like the map of the mouse, with fears written on it!). My favorite feature is that the book encourages active participation, and that even as an adult, I was interested in checking out all the "nooks and crannies" of the book's pages. There's much hidden, and I had several laughs. Fun book, with a creative layout, and multi-layered approach to learning!
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