"No team works without teamwork." Isaiah
This book is officially f a b u l o u s !! Rush out to your nearest library and borrow it now. If you want a book to make you laugh because it is so clever, if you want a book to make you cheer because the hero is so wonderful and if you want a book with a happy ending, food and mice then this is the book for you.
I sat down today to read one chapter and lifted my head after reading this whole book in one sitting. No wonder this book was on the NY Times best seller list for over 12 weeks. I loved, loved this book.
Each chapter begins with words of wisdom by Isaiah. Here are few :
- "God gave us acorns, but he doesn't crack them open for us." Isaiah
- "Be careful. The light at the end of the tunnel could be an oncoming train." Isaiah
- "Words have no muscles, but they are strong enough to break a heart." Isaiah
- "Be careful with your heart. Once it's broken it's hard to find spare parts." Isaiah
- "Given a challenge, be like the sun: rise to the occasion." Isaiah
In the opening chapter Isaiah, our clever blue mouse hero, escapes from the Horrible Place. It is in fact a laboratory where they use mice for scientific testing. It is an illegal and terrible place. Isaiah is the youngest of 97 brightly colored mice who stage an escape. Isaiah is the smallest and probably the most afraid of the group but he is the only one who manages to escape.
Isaiah makes two special friends. Mikayla, the mouse who takes him home to her mischief (a group of mice are known as a mischief) and Hailey, a human girl who also knows what it feels like to be different. Isaiah is lucky to find himself living under a human home where food is plentiful (these people are truly slobs) but he also discovers it is the home of the man who worked as a cleaner in the Horrible Place. It will take courage, problem solving and spectacular team work to set all his brothers and sisters free. There are dangers everywhere - birds, cats, humans and mouse traps.
Here is another little piece of wisdom from Isaiah. "Yes, cats are nocturnal creatures too. Mouse life would be so much easier if mice weren't on the same schedule as their primary predator."
You can read an extract from the book here. I found this very cute television advertisement for Word of Mouse. I wonder who paid for this - such fun. Here is a review with more details about the story and its creators. This book would make an excellent class or family read-a-loud book.
The illustrations in Word of Mouse are by Joe Sutphin and they are a joy (see below). Listen to an audio sample here.
There are so many fabulous books about mice who are heroes I could now recommend. Here are a few from this blog:
Mousenet
Bless this mouse
Mrs Frisby and the rats of NIMH
Song of the Winns
The tale of Despereaux
A mouse called Wolf
Time stops for no mouse
With smart witticisms to launch each quick-paced chapter, Isaiah is truly a mouse that roars. Kirkus stared review
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