Birthday Mice!

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,[1] it received mixed reviews.

Birthday Mice!
AuthorBethany Roberts
IllustratorDoug Cushman
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesHoliday Mice[1][2]
GenreChildren's fiction
PublishedOctober 21, 2002[2]
PublisherClarion Books[2]
Pages32[2]
ISBN0-618-31367-2

Synopsis

When their son turns two, the holiday-celebrating mouse family of four[3] holds a birthday for him in a forest clearing, set to a cowboy theme.[2][4]

Reception

Reviews for Birthday Mice!, the fifth title with Roberts and Cushman's characters,[5] 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".[2] 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."[6] In separate reviews, The Horn Book criticized the "forced rhyming text"[5] and "uneven" rhymes[7] which the "festive watercolors" helped to compensate.[5][7]

References
  1. 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 10, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  2. "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. "CHD" (Spring 2003). "Preschool: 'Birthday Mice!'" (PDF). The Horn Book. Vol. 14, no. 1. p. 18. ISSN 1044-405X. Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  6. Sheridan, Eileen (December 2002). "Review: 'Birthday Mice!'". School Library Journal. Vol. 48, no. 12. p. 107. ISSN 0362-8930. Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  7. "KF" (Fall 2015). "Early Readers: 'Birthday Mice!'" (PDF). The Horn Book. Vol. 26, no. 2. p. 61. ISSN 1044-405X. Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via ProQuest.
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