Title: Mouseheart
Author: Lisa Fiedler
Illustrator: Vivienne To
Month/Year Published: Expected publication date May 2014
You May Know Her: Hmm...not really sure! We want to know more!
You May Find Her: Hmm... Lisa Fidler...where are yooooou?
Review You May Not Have Seen: Not a lot of reviews quite yet - the buzz will begin soon though!
The Review
I'm not quite sure how I arrived by this Advanced Reader's Copy of MOUSEHEART, but let me tell you, the packaging alone, from Simon and Schuster free of charge, made me feel like I was receiving something special. Nestled in a brown paper, the book, complete with a mock-up of the book display and cover with its pyramidical (pyramidical?) illustration in colors both vibrant and muted, definitely caught my attention.
But how would this little nestled egg hold up under the boiling water scrutiny (are ya catching my egg metaphor here) of my most critical readers: my very own 3rd and 4th grade daughter and son? Would it crack under the pressure? Would the plot be too scrambled? Or would it read easy (over)? (Okay, I'm done with the egg metaphor now.)
Over the course of a week, we read this book aloud on successive evenings. Here is what my own reviewers thought of this forthcoming book, the first in a trilogy.
My fourth grade son: "I thought MOUSEHEART was very good. A lot of parts were very amusing to read. This book also makes you think a little bit. This book is sad, scary, and happy all at the same time. I thought the characters in this book were very good. Like, Hopper {the main character}, Zucker, Pinkie, Pup and Titus. I really think that title matches the story. I think that it being a trilogy is good because it makes you want to read the others. I would read the others. I would recommend this book to people who like action, animals, and cliffhangers. I really loved this book!"
My third grade daughter: "The book was awesome. I can't wait for the sequel. My favorite characters in order were Pup, Hopper, and Pinkie. I would recommend this book to people that aren't afraid of rodents. The title really makes you think about what it means. I liked the whole story and how it was thought out. My favorite part was one of the fighting scenes between certain characters in the book {no spoilers!}."
My children really did enjoy this book and asked me to read it to them every night. I know this book will be a hit in my elementary school library as well. It's a little less challenging in terms of reading stamina than Redwall and the Warriors series, to which it is being compared, and that will suit my students in grades 3-5 just fine. A definite purchase for our collection and recommended reading, if, as my daughter cautions, you aren't afraid of rodents!
