Thanksgiving Mice! [Hardcover]

Bethany Roberts (Author), Doug Cushman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

It’s Thanksgiving and four adorable mice are putting on a play for their woodland friends in this delightful read-aloud, the fourth book about the holiday mice. Lively verse introduces beginning readers to basic words and rhyming sounds and tells the story of the very first Thanksgiving, when the Pilgrim mice traveled across the sea and settled in America. The simple story-within-a-story format, accompanied by colorful, action-filled illustrations of mice in costume, also serves as a basic introduction to theater.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In another reenactment, Thanksgiving Mice! by Bethany Roberts, illus. by Doug Cushman, rodents are the stars. Simple rhyming text and historical basics come together as the Holiday Mice present a play.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

reS-Gr 1-The origins of Thanksgiving are explained by a group of mice as they put on a play for their animal friends. Cushman's cheerful spreads show the little creatures using handmade props and putting their all into this neighborhood production. The characters are charming and the colors are vibrant. Where pictures appear in a smaller frame, objects often extend into the borders for visual appeal. The problem comes with the text. Short rhyming stanzas at first seem to offer a pleasing read-aloud pattern, only to dissolve into an odd scheme, and readers may constantly try to recover a poetic balance that isn't there. Another problem comes with fictionalizing the Pilgrims as mice and keeping true to the Thanksgiving account. These diminutive Pilgrims wear clothes, sail on the Mayflower, suffer a hard winter, and plant corn, but that continuity breaks when "They built new homes in tree trunks-" instead of houses. There is a scarcity of Thanksgiving books for this age group that can adequately explain the historical significance of the holiday in very simple terms. Halloween Mice! (Clarion, 1995) by the same duo hit upon a combination of text and pictures that works very well, but it isn't trying to tie in a historical concept. If you aren't overly concerned with an odd poetic structure or a break in the logic of mice as Pilgrims, then this book should fill a gap in read-aloud Thanksgiving material for the younger set.

Carol Marshall, Bridgeport Public Library, CT

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books; None edition (September 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618120408
• ISBN-13: 978-0618120406
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,703,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful Thanksgiving Celebration!, October 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Thanksgiving Mice! (Hardcover)

"Come one, come all, come see our play!" In the newest addition to this popular series, the holiday mice put on a play for their woodland friends, to tell the story of Thanksgiving. Dressed in Pilgrim costumes, they journey on the Mayflower, experience hardships, sow corn, and celebrate with a Thanksgiving feast. Told in lively verse, this book tells the history of Thanksgiving in simple terms for the picture book set. The mouse characters are as endearing as always, and the illustrations lend humor to the story, as the mouse characters struggle with props and preparations. Young fans of the holiday mice will love this delightful book celebrating Thanksgiving!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanksgiving Fun for the Picture Book Set, October 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Thanksgiving Mice! (Hardcover)

Adorable mice enthusiastically bumble through a Thanksgiving play for their friends. But they successfully convey the history and joy of the day, and then have a fun feast with their friends to celebrate. This book is a lively way to give children the basic history of Thanksgiving and is a fun read as well. Highly recommended!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanksgiving Winner!!, September 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Thanksgiving Mice! (Hardcover)

The holiday mice are back, this time to celebrate Thanksgiving! These charming little characters perform a Thanksgiving play for an audience of animal friends. The fun rhymes and colorful illustrations tell the story of the Pligrims as they sailed to America, struggled with hunger and cold, grew corn, and at last celebrated with a Thanksgiving feast. In a satisfying ending, the mice celebrate Thanksgiving with a delicious feast of their own. Just right for the youngest readers, this book is a Thanksgiving winner!