Amazon.com Review
Miss Mouse--the poker-faced, gangly-limbed rag doll who first appeared in Jan Ormerod's
Miss Mouse's Day--takes to the air with her towheaded friend and her mom in
Miss Mouse Takes Off. Amazing how much there is to do on an airplane with a little creativity and a lot of energy! They color pictures, watch a movie, play catch with the little boy one row up (Miss Mouse practices her flying as she's tossed from one to the other), and congratulate the pilot on a good landing. After being mislaid a few times, and almost lost to the baggage carousel, Miss Mouse (not to mention her young guardian and her cheerful but harried mother) is ready to get out of the airport and into Granny's arms.
Every child with a strong attachment to one special cuddly toy will be right on board with Miss Mouse's adventures. Told from the multipatterned mouse's point of view, the story is full of wry observations and humorous asides. "I love to color..." Miss Mouse says, even as the reader notices that she is squashed in the seat behind her crayon-clutching friend. In the next frame both girl and mouse seem to have tired of drawing, and Miss Mouse continues her statement: "for a while." The simple, brief, first-person text and jaunty illustrated panels make this a perfect fit for beginning readers. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter
From Publishers Weekly
Ormerod's heroine from Miss Mouse's Day here captures the wonder of plane travel. The passengers include Miss Mouse's owner, the girl's mother and the ultra-gangly rag doll herself. Once again, Miss Mouse ostensibly narrates the story although occasionally her young owner slips in an aside ("Miss Mouse? Miss Mouse!" when she's misplaced her toy). Together, they're headed from somewhere cold and snowy to the sunnier locale where Granny lives (Granny's very chic capri pants ensemble is a tipoff to warmer climes). With minimalist text, Ormerod carefully lays out each step of the experience; a compelling and authentic emotional intensity always lies just beneath the surface of her mixed-media pictures the characters are watchable even when they're sleeping. Moments of comic high drama also spice up the narrative: Miss Mouse must suffer the indignities of going through the X-ray machine, getting mistakenly (but only momentarily) stowed in the overhead compartment and being accidentally left in the lavatory. Youngsters preparing for their first plane trip will find that Miss Mouse's adventure removes any anxieties, but even the most seasoned junior travelers will discover plenty to make their spirits soar. Ages 3-up.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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