Holiday Mice!

Holiday Mice!
AuthorBethany Roberts
IllustratorDoug Cushman
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's fiction
Publisher
Published1995–2004

Holiday Mice! is the informal title of a children's book series written by Bethany Roberts and illustrated by Doug Cushman. It was published between 1995 and 2004 by Houghton Mifflin's Clarion imprint; reception was mixed to positive.

Books

The series, which consists of seven titles, was referred to as Holiday Mice (without the exclamation mark) by Publishers Weekly in 2004. In each book, a family of mice—two children plus their mother and father—celebrate the titular holidays. Author Bethany Roberts had previously written the Waiting-for Series, a trilogy in two of whose installments a rabbit family celebrated spring and Christmas.

#TitleDateRef.ISBN
1Halloween Mice!August 19950-395-67064-0
The mouse family wards off a cat during their midnight party at a pumpkin patch.
2Valentine Mice!January 2, 19970-395-77518-3
The family sends out Valentine's Day cards to forest residents as they travel through a snow-covered landscape.
3Christmas Mice!September 20000-395-91204-0
During their Christmas festivities, they receive a holiday cheese from a nearby cat, and return the favor by sending it a cookie.
4Thanksgiving Mice!September 20010-618-12040-8
The family puts on a play about the origins of the holiday.
5Birthday Mice!October 21, 20020-618-31367-2
When their son turns two, the parents hold a birthday for him in a forest clearing, set to a cowboy theme.
6Easter Mice!20030-618-16455-3
While on an Easter egg hunt, the son in the family feels left out without finding an egg.
7Fourth of July Mice!May 20040-618-31367-2
The family spends Independence Day holding a parade, playing baseball, swimming in the pool, and enjoying fireworks among other activities.

Reception

Reception of the Holiday Mice! books was mixed-to-positive. Cushman's artwork was praised, but occasional criticism was leveraged towards Roberts' "choppy" rhyming text.

Reviewing the debut installment, Halloween Mice!, Virginia Opocensky of the School Library Journal (SLJ) remarked that the "Full-page watercolors are appropriate for the holiday while not too scary for the intended audience." When Christmas Mice! was published a few years later, another SLJ reviewer wrote, "The rhyming text works hard to stick to a basic vocabulary, but the story falls flat." The publication noted similar problems with the later Thanksgiving and Birthday installments, but gave their approval to Fourth of July; Carol Marshall nitpicked Thanksgiving's historical accuracy.

Publishers Weekly gave Halloween a mixed review: "Roberts's text lacks the rhythm or drama of a good read-aloud. Cushman's watercolor mice set a cheery holiday mood but don't add much zing." Two years later, the magazine called Valentine's Mice! "[a] spirited if slight holiday caper."

References

  1. 1 2 Kumar, Lisa, ed. (2010). "Roberts, Bethany 1949–". Something About the Author. Vol. 202. Gale Research. p. 153. ISBN 978-1-4144-3499-5. Retrieved July 4, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  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. Retrieved July 4, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  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 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Pettit, John (December 11, 1994). "Wallingford native reads her stories at library". Record-Journal. Meriden, Connecticut. p. B3. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2025 – via Google News Archive.
  5. 1 2 Opocensky, Virginia (September 1, 1995). "Book Review / Preschool & Primary: 'Halloween Mice!'". School Library Journal. Vol. 41, no. 9. p. 185. ISSN 0362-8930. Retrieved July 4, 2024 – via EBSCOhost.
  6. 1 2 "Halloween Mice!". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 242, no. 38. September 18, 1995. p. 89. ISSN 0000-0019. Retrieved October 31, 2025 – via Gale General OneFile.
  7. ↑ "Review: 'Valentine Mice!'". Kirkus Reviews. No. 23. December 1, 1997. ProQuest 917218070. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 Olivo-Posner, Diane (October 2000). "Review: 'Christmas Mice!'". School Library Journal. Vol. 46, no. 10. p. 62. ISSN 0362-8930. Retrieved July 4, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  9. ↑ Devereaux, Elizabeth (September 25, 2000). "Christmas Notes". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 247, no. 39. p. 74. ISSN 0000-0019. Retrieved October 31, 2025 – via Gale General OneFile.
  10. 1 2 3 Marshall, Carol (September 2001). "Review: 'Thanksgiving Mice!'". School Library Journal. Vol. 47, no. 9. p. 204. ISSN 0362-8930. Retrieved July 4, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  11. ↑ "Review: 'Birthday Mice!'". Kirkus Reviews. Vol. 70, no. 19. October 1, 2002. p. 1478. ISSN 1948-7428. ProQuest 917092885. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  12. ↑ 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 4, 2024.
  13. 1 2 PR (January–June 2003). "Preschool: 'Easter Mice!'" (PDF). The Horn Book. Vol. 14, no. 2. p. 309. ISSN 1044-405X. Retrieved July 4, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  14. ↑ Fletcher, Connie (May 2004). "Review: 'Fourth of July Mice!'". Booklist. Vol. 100, no. 18. p. 1626. ISSN 0006-7385. Retrieved July 4, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  15. 1 2 Owen, Maryanne H. (June 2004). "Review: 'Fourth of July Mice!'". School Library Journal. Vol. 50, no. 6. p. 117. ISSN 0362-8930. Retrieved July 4, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  16. 1 2 Roback, Diane; Brown, Jennifer M.; Di Marzo, Cindi (December 1, 1997). "Review: 'Valentine Mice!'". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 244, no. 49. p. 52. ISSN 0000-0019. Retrieved July 4, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  17. ↑ Sheridan, Eileen (December 2002). "Review: 'Birthday Mice!'". School Library Journal. Vol. 48, no. 12. p. 107. ISSN 0362-8930. Retrieved July 4, 2024 – via ProQuest.