Mouse Count [Hardcover]

Ellen Stoll Walsh (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

In this charming companion to Mouse Paint, Ellen Stoll Walsh introduces the concept of counting forward and backward in a suspenseful story that will keep young readers guessing. “The rhythm follows the illustrations in a glissando; one can almost hear the background music.”--The Horn Book

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The protagonists of Walsh's Mouse Paint return, with a few companions, to bring another basic concept to life for toddlers: this time, the numbers from one to 10. "Mouse Count!," a greedy snake proclaims, and gathers them up until he has filled his dinner jar to the brim. The clever mice distract the snake long enough to tip over the container and run home to safety. Although Walsh's simple cut-paper figures once again display a naive charm and exuberance, her new book may well prove frightening to little ones. The image of the snake carrying a hapless rodent by its tail--"First I will count them and then I will eat them up,"--is an unsettling one. Though the mice do escape, impressionable imaginations already will have been alarmed. Also, the concept of the fleeing rodents "uncounting" (reciting backward the numbers 10 to one) is doubtless beyond the reach of the intended audience. Ages 2-6.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-- A slithery snake finds ten sleeping mice that he thinks will make a delizacious meal. He pops them into a jar . . . "one, two, three." But, being greedy, he sees just one more hidden in the grass and goes to collect it. The ten little captured mice outsmart him, however, and--"ten, nine, eight . . . "--uncount themselves as they scramble from the jar and run home, safe and sound once again. Children will delight in this counting game that is couched in an exciting, original story. They will cheer for the resourceful, bright-eyed, tiny mice as they escape. The torn paper collage and tempra illustrations are lively and depict the story's unerring drama through an unclutterd form and line. Each page displays a neatly framed illustration that complements the progression of this anticipatory story. Readers will be intrigued by the sleek blue snake and his whimsical, earth-toned captives. A concept book that lures children into the learning process through drama and ultimate satisfaction. --Mary Lou Budd, Milford South Elementary School, OH
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (March 15, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152560238
• ISBN-13: 978-0152560232
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

ELLEN STOLL WALSH is the author and illustrator of many award-winning early concept books for young children, including Mouse Paint, Mouse Count, and the Dot and Jabber trilogy. She lives near Rochester, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mouse Count - Love this Book!, August 19, 2005

By 

L. Wilkinson "Kinderteacher" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mouse Count (Board book)

This book is a really fun one to read aloud to my kindergarten class. It is not scary! They love it! And the fact that snakes eat mice is a basic fact that they understand. I especially like the moral of this story: Don't be greedy! When I read it, I always hear "Read it again, please". To make it even more fun, we get a plastic jar, a toy snake, a rock, and little toy mice to dramatize the story. They love to make the jar rock back and forth until the mice spill out and run away. This is a favorite centertime activity that the kids choose over and over again. It's a great prediction book with basic counting forward and backward concepts imbedded in it. You can't go wrong with this book for the PreK/K range.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't measure up to 'Mouse Paint', June 7, 2001

By 

jaye hendrix (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mouse Count (Board book)

My kids love Mouse Paint, so we got Mouse Count, too. This one just doesn't hold their interest near as much. There's less action, I guess, and it is much less imaginative. We were disappointed.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very good; but "Mouse Paint" still beats this, March 17, 2003

By 

Dave in Hagerstown "oriolesfan61" (Hagerstown, MD, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mouse Count (Paperback)

As a preschool teacher I like this book.
Far from the snake's description of the imprisioned mice making it inappropariate for children: it is a good moral lesson! Don't be greedy! It is also not a problem because mice are on earth to be food for the snakes and the preditors are not "bad" animals; there are just fulfilling their role in the ecology.
I don't like it as much as "Mouse Paint" but it is a fine counting book.