Paper Mice

by Megan Wagner Lloyd, Phoebe Wahl (Illustrator)

It’s the middle of the night, and two paper mice find adventure—and each other—as they explore their new home in this beautifully written, stunningly illustrated story of friendship.

With a snip and a clip, two paper mice are made. They are given names: Della and Ralph. Each alone, they explore their new house in the dark. Della dashes up the stairs; Ralph skitters through the dining room. There is so much to see and so much to discover!

But a big, dark house can be scary for those so small, until they find…each other.

Beautiful, cut-paper illustrations bring to life this lyrical story of adventure and friendship.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fantasy, Friendship, Fiction, Juvenile

40 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2019

About the author

Megan Wagner Lloyd is the writer of the kids' graphic novels ALLERGIC and SQUISHED, co-created with illustrator Michelle Mee Nutter, and the SUPER PANCAKE series, co-created with illustrator Abhi Alwar. She's also the author of HAVEN: A SMALL CAT'S BIG ADVENTURE, and several picture books. She lives with her family in the Washington DC area.

Sign up for her newsletter: meganwagnerlloyd.com
Find her on Instagram: @meganwagnerlloyd

Reviews

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 1 out of 5]

Paper Mice by Megan Wagner Lloyd, illustrated by Phoebe Wahl. PICTURE BOOK. Simon & Schuster, 2019. $18. 9781481481663

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - NOT RECOMMENDED

AUDIENCE APPEAL: Low

An elderly woman cuts out two paper mice from old envelopes and sticks them between the pages of a couple of books. At night, the paper mice come alive and begin to explore the house by themselves. But the real magic happens when they meet up and become friends.

The story itself is okay but pretty forgettable. (Though it does beg the question: WHY does the old woman cut out the mice, paint them, and then put them in the pages of two separate books? They don't need to be flattened. They don't seem to be used as bookmarks. They can't be a surprise, since her grandchild watched her the whole time? So why?) Anyway. It's the dark and dismal illustrations that brought this book down into NOT RECOMMENDED territory. They are pretty unappealing, and are reminiscent of a 1950s picture book, but without the excuse of lack of printing capabilities to justify it.

Sydney G., K-6 Library Media Specialist
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Susan Siow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet tale of adventure and friendship, with vivid illustrations.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This whimsical fantasy picture book will enchant young readers as two newly-made paper mice explore a house during the night. While everyone is sleeping, Della and Ralph come to life and start looking through the rooms and trying different things separately. When Ralph runs into a bit of trouble, Della helps him out and the two become terrific friends. The story is told from the point of view of the two little paper mice, and so it would be fun to discuss the way ordinary household objects are so much bigger and different to these two creatures. It also might be neat to have young writers continue the story - what will the mice do the next night?

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

best book ever to exist, ever!!!!!! the illustrations are perfect, but they can't even compare to the incredible writing!!!! such perfection is unparalleled in any other book, except for Ms. Lloyd's other books, of course. keep up the good work, Megan Wagner! ♥️💕💗💖💓💙💚💛💜🖤💝💞💟❣️💌💓💕💖💗💙💚💛💜🖤💝💞💟❣️💌💓💕💖💗💙💚💛💜🖤💝💞💟❣️💌💓💕💖💗💙💚💛💜🖤💝💞💟❣️💌

[Michael Karg · Rating 5 out of 5]

The playful first lines suggest an opportunity for the whole book to be in rhyme, but in a lovely contrast to that quick prologue, the story unfolds in a more delicate rhythm. Paper Mice is a slow waltz to be savored again and again.

[Kris Dersch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this so much! The mood was evocative and the illustrations are luminous. It just made me feel so cozy in all the best ways, this book.

[Marcella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Op de eerste bladzijdes lijkt het nog of Muisjes van papier van Megan Wagner Lloyd een lief verhaal over een grootmoeder en een kleindochter, die samen knutselen met lijm en papier, zal zijn. Maar de echte hoofdrol is niet weggelegd voor de mensen in dit verhaal. Als de avond valt en de mensen in bed liggen, zijn het de twee vers geknutselde muisjes die de lezer meenemen op avontuur.

"Cozy, whimsical. Het zijn maar enkele woorden die in mijn hoofd opkomen als ik steeds weer door dit prentenboek blader en het verhaal van de muisjes volg. Muisjes van Papier is een prachtig, sfeervol en bovenal sentimenteel prentenboek. Groots in zijn kleinheid. "

Lees mijn volledige blog op www.booksandmacchiatos.com!

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute little story of the adventures of two mice in the night time. It was cute and short. The illustrations weren't bad.
Not a book that would come to mind to recommend right away, but not a book I wouldn't recommend.

[Victoria Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable, my daughter and I enjoyed it a lot.

[Georgia Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely gorgeous, and such an adorable, timeless story! It’s the kind of book that sparks imagination and gets a kid excited to make their own paper friends and create stories around them. We got this book yesterday, as I’m a already a longtime fan of the illustrator’s artwork. Read it at bedtime, and my son woke up this morning and got out paper, scissors, glue, markers, and string and made his own paper mice and a little sign to welcome paper mice. ‪It’s a whimsical, sweet story; turning the quiet of a house during nighttime hours into a magical landscape, starring two adorable paper mice out on a wholesome adventure. This is destined to be a favorite in our house, I think! ‬The children in your life (...and the young at heart adults too!) will adore this lovely book!

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

First chance the girl mouse gets she appropriates a doll's dress. Humans have feverishly red cheeks. Premise makes no sense. Theme is 'go have adventures; it'll set you up with an opportunity to make a friend" which really has been done. Did not work for me at all.

[BrookesEducationLibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated tale of two paper mice and their adventures.

[Kaitlin Bisbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paper mice is a sweet story about two paper mice, who are made by humans and run off into the night for an adventure! Just like real mice, they are nocturnal, and come out into the night to play and explore the house and the new smells that they have never seen before. There's an underlying theme of finding friends in dark times, represented well by a quote near the end of the story "Out into the darkness they'd each ventured - alone - and found true comfort: a friend." No matter what kind of dark times we are going through, or struggles we are facing, there is always someone out there who is facing the same or similar struggles to us, and we can find happiness and comfort through our friendship with them. This book could be used in a classroom to teach students about the importance of friendship, and the harmony that one can find in a true friend.

[Anna W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Definitely a very cute story about two mice, Ralph and Della, who have been created from envelopes. After being pressed between the pages of a book, the two mice take off on a night adventure throughout the house in which they were cut and made. They do all sorts of things and eventually they run into each other, learning that their adventures are easier with two instead of one.

While this story is very cute, and the illustrations are beautiful shades of red, white, and blue, there doesn't seem to be an overarching message for kids other than that life is sometimes easier with someone else (adventures too). While this is a good message, I felt more could have been made from this tale.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every child, perhaps every adult, imagine that stuffed animals and other favorite animal collections come alive at night. This time a young girl and her grandmother create paper mice, "with a snip and a clip, and a snip and a clip". Della and Ralph are slipped between pages of a book and the people go off to bed. The adventures of each and even better, when they meet and become friends is delightful. With poetic words by Megan Wagner Lloyd in her debut picture book and full-page 'night-time' mixed-media illustrations by Phoebe Wahl, you will want to put this in a read-aloud pile for younger readers.

[Yessica Cancino · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am giving the book, Paper Mice, a 4. This book is about two paper mice that were but from paper and only that. But at night, these two mice came to life, but they did not know of each other. They both went separate ways and explored. It was not going so well for Ralph. He could not find his place and ended up wet and freezing. Della was doing much better, she found a little home her size and she was happy until she heard Ralph. She welcomed him in and they became friends. This book is very cute and fun for those students learning punctuation.

[Riska (lovunakim) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seorang gadis kecil dan neneknya membuat prakarya sebuah tikus yg terbuat dari kertas. Dua tikus kertas itu bernama Ralph dan Della. Saat akan tidur, gadis kecil menaruh kedua tikus kertas itu didalam buku. Disaat gadis kecil tertidur, kedua tikus itu bergerak dan bangun. Mereka mulai mengeksplor seisi rumah.

Phoebe Wahl dengan ilustrasinya yg cantik berhasil membuat cerita dalam buku ini jadi lebih indah.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVELY LANGUAGE! I would say this is a quiet book. It has an arc. It seems maybe a grandmother is cutting two bookmarks for a child who then puts them in their book and goes to sleep. I think the child dreams about the mice and their adventures and that one of the mice almost catches on fire.
Child wakes up after the antics of the mice are complete.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two paper mice, created by what appear to be a grandmother and granddaughter, sneak out of the book pages they are squeezed between to explore the house. Once they discover each other the adventure becomes that much more fun.

Suggested for one-on-one sharing as there are many small details to be noticed.

[FM Family · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute one and a nice random pick off a library shelf. I enjoyed the illustrations and the sort of surreal, nighttime exploration vibe of the story. Never made totally clear WHY they made these paper mice and put them in a book, but it's a fun story that gets the imagination going. My 4.5 year old seemed to enjoy it a lot and chose it night after night.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

A child and grandparent cut out two mice shapes from two different pieces of paper. At night, the mice come alive and run around the house. At first they each explore alone, but they find that working together can be more fun.

As a playful, Nutcracker-like story, this is fine. But I felt like they could have done more with the concept.

[Raven Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

While first blush makes this look like it will be AMAZING, it turns out to be amazing. It is pretty. There is a classic feel to the art and story. Ralph is a bit of a goof so he is fun. Della is a typical little female.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this story. A young child cuts two mice out of paper, and then sticks them in a book. At night time, the mice come out and explore the house, and meet each other.

It was such a charming story, and I found myself smiling throughout.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two mice made of paper wait until nighttime, and then explore the house. While not much happens, it was magical to follow them around in their charming explorations. Also, I was deeply worried when the boy mouse fell into the water dish!!

[booksandfaes_ Martina Finkenberger Colecchio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dos ratoncitos se escapan de un libro. Van de un lado a otro, dándose cuenta de que, aunque están bien solos, nunca está de más tener un amigo que los acompañe en las aventuras que surgen en el camino.

[Billie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations and the story felt like something I would have loved as a child, but the telling lacked some something to hook and engage me.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got really swept up in this imaginative story about two people-made paper mice. Stunning textures and gorgeous movement in these illustrations.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple, playful tale of friendship and adventure with lovely detailed illustrations.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great illustrations, sweet story.

[Carol Gordon Ekster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the language. Adorable story and illustrations.