Mouse Mess [Hardcover]

Linnea Asplind Riley (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

With exuberant, brightly colored collages, Riley presents the simple story of a mouse who wakes for a midnight snack and winds up creating a chaotic mess in the family kitchen. "Rhythmic and fun to read aloud." - School Library Journal, starred review. "Wickedly witty." - Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1. As a little mouse munches his merry way through the kitchen, he leaves the room in shambles. Snap-crackling, finger-licking fun, with dynamic art that's a feast for the eye.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

When a mouse ventures out for a nighttime snack, he turns the kitchen into a midnight mess. He's just waking up, in fact, as the human family toddles off to bed, and the kitchen is his playground. Riley (The 12 Days of Christmas, 1995, etc.) uses bold colors for her cut-paper collages and almost life-size proportions to include readers in the mouse's illicit feast. Cookies, crackers, and cornflakes join olives, peanut butter, and cheese, cascading like a waterfall from the counter to the kitchen floor. When the mouse's pig-out is complete, he cleans himself up using a teacup for a tub. He's ready for bed by morning, just as the family rises to discover the food fiasco he has left behind. A tasty frolic. (Picture book. 4-7) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Blue Sky Press; 1 edition (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590100483
• ISBN-13: 978-0590100489
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 11.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A little-known gem, May 16, 2000

By 

Ann M. Huebner (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mouse Mess (Hardcover)

This book is a sleeper. No one seems to know about it; mycolleagues had never heard of it. This is a shame because the bookis a gem. First of all, the cut paper illustrations are superb. The perspective is interesting, with a "mouse-eye" view of the counter top (huge cereal boxes, teacups, Oreo cookies, and so forth). Then there's the mouse--surely the most vibrant, personality-filled creature ever rendered in paper. He climbs, he runs, he bathes...and he makes Eric Carle's animals look rigid and grotesque. The rhyming text is a lot of fun. My two-year-old can recite the whole thing. The story is simple and funny. A mouse goes into the kitchen at night, makes a huge mess, and then leaves it. This might turn off some parents. I mean, the mouse is unapologetic (in fact, he announces, "These people need to clean their house!") and he doesn't get into trouble for making the mess either. He just goes to sleep, presumably to do the same naughty thing the next night. For some reason, however, I found this hysterical--a refreshing break from usual diet of cutesy morality pieces. In fact, because the story is unpredictable in this way, it would appeal to older children, as well as toddlers. END

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The rhymes and pictures are totally captivating, September 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mouse Mess (Hardcover)

My two children (22 months and 15 months) love this book. They imitate the mouse as he creeps upstairs, eats his cookies, jumps into his cornflakes and takes a bath. Everytime we read it we discover a new detail. The mouse's expressions are wonderful and the details are exquisite. Everyone should have a copy of this book for their children.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best childrens books ever!, February 12, 2002

By 

Kelly (Santa Fe, New Mexico United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mouse Mess (Hardcover)

My two year old twin sons LOVE this book. We read it several times a day. They repeat some of the phrases as I turn the pages and giggle at the mess the mouse has made while "acting" out some of the scenes. This book helps children to identify foods and other objects around the house and is in general a lot of fun to read. It has become my favorite book to give as a gift - this book should be in every house that has a child!