Birthday Mice!

Birthday Mice!
AuthorBethany Roberts
IllustratorDoug Cushman
LanguageEnglish
SeriesHoliday Mice
GenreChildren's fiction
PublishedOctober 21, 2002
PublisherClarion Books
Publication placeUnited States
Pages32
ISBN0-618-31367-2


Birthday Mice! is a 2002 children's book written by Bethany Roberts and illustrated by Doug Cushman. Part of the informally marketed Holiday Mice series, it received mixed reviews.

Synopsis

When their son turns two, the holiday-celebrating mouse family of four holds a birthday for him in a forest clearing, set to a cowboy theme.

Reception

Reviews for Birthday Mice!, the fifth title with Roberts and Cushman's characters, were mixed. Kirkus Reviews said, "Occasional rhymes and a musical cadence to the text—with its oompah repetition of words—make this a lively performance piece". Conversely, Eileen Sheridan wrote in the School Library Journal: "This is a difficult book to read aloud; the rhyming text doesn't scan, and sometimes the rhymed word doesn't appear until pages later. [Although] Cushman's animals are personable, [the birthday boy's appearance across] four panels [in two instances] is bound to confuse preschoolers, who will see four separate mice.... Not a first purchase." In separate reviews, The Horn Book criticized the "forced rhyming text" and "uneven" rhymes which the "festive watercolors" helped to compensate.

References

  1. 1 2 Zaleski, Jeff (May 3, 2004). "Children's Notes: A Red-White-and-Blue Parade". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 251, no. 18. pp. 194–195. ISSN 0000-0019. ProQuest 197095310. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Review: 'Birthday Mice!'". Kirkus Reviews. Vol. 70, no. 19. October 1, 2002. p. 1478. ISSN 1948-7428. ProQuest 917092885. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  3. ↑ Fowler, Bonnie (June 27, 2004). "Children's Books: Flag-waving tales will make for amusing holiday reading". Winston-Salem Journal. p. A18. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Roback, Diane; Brown, Jennifer M.; Britton, Jason (October 7, 2002). "Children's Notes: Encore Performances: 'Birthday Mice!'". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 249, no. 40. p. 75. ISSN 0000-0019. EBSCOhost 7526093. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 CHD (Spring 2003). "Preschool: 'Birthday Mice!'" (PDF). The Horn Book. Vol. 14, no. 1. p. 18. ISSN 1044-405X. ProQuest 207564108. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  6. ↑ Sheridan, Eileen (December 2002). "Review: 'Birthday Mice!'". School Library Journal. Vol. 48, no. 12. p. 107. ISSN 0362-8930. ProQuest 211735559. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  7. 1 2 KF (Fall 2015). "Early Readers: 'Birthday Mice!'" (PDF). The Horn Book. Vol. 26, no. 2. p. 61. ISSN 1044-405X. ProQuest 1725202984. Retrieved July 10, 2023.