Itsy-Bitsy Baby Mouse

by Michelle Meadows, Matthew Cordell (Illustrator)

A lost little mouse must navigate a huge house to find his way home in this sweet picture book from Michelle Meadows and Matthew Cordell.

Itsy-bitsy baby mouse
Tap and tumble ’round the house
Chase a busy buzzy fly
Creap and leap and reach up high...

Baby Mouse’s curiosity lets him discover all sorts of things—but it has also led him away from his parents. Lost in a large house, this itsy-bitsy baby mouse seeks to find something familiar that could lead him home. How will he find his way? Michelle Meadows and Matthew Cordell pair up to make a path for Itsy-Bitsy Baby Mouse—and young readers—to joyfully follow.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Poetry, Cats, Fiction, Family

34 pages, Hardcover

First published March 6, 2012

About the author

Michelle Meadows is the author of many acclaimed books for children, including MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR: One Girl Can Make a Difference, MAXIE WIZ AND HER DRAGON, HOW TO LOVE A PONY, FLYING HIGH: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles and BRAVE BALLERINA: The Story of Janet Collins. Michelle also contributed research and writing to BLACK BALLERINAS: My Journey to Our Legacy by Misty Copeland. Michelle graduated from Syracuse University with a dual degree in journalism and literature. She is represented by literary agent Rosemary Stimola of the Stimola Literary Studio. Michelle grew up in Washington D.C. and now lives near the beach in Delaware with her husband.

Website: www.michellemeadows.com

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little mouse experiences the wonders and terrors of life in the wider world (AKA, the human house in which his family's mouse-hole resides) in this rhyming picture-book romp. When he gets lost, a kindly older mouse shows him the way, only for our murine hero to be trapped by a cat. Will he ever get home...?

The text here stumbles in a few places, but overall it has an entertaining, bouncy rhythm, while the artwork is quite expressive. I liked the two-page spread in which the illustrations zoom in on the horrified mouse, who is just realizing he doesn't know where he is. All that said, I thought the conclusion of the story was a little off - it wasn't clear to me if the chase scene (and perhaps the entire adventure?) was a dream, or if the mouse escaped, and his parents found him cowering - and I deducted a star accordingly. Recommended primarily to Matthew Cordell fans.

[Maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. Didn't love the illustrations. Moral--if you leave your house there is a good and real chance that you will die.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the cover, I was expecting a Jan Thomas style of over-the-top silliness in this book. Instead, the colors are subdued and washed out just like the story.
The author starts to say something about the unique perspective of such a little mouse in such a big world but...doesn't. And then there's a sort of a weird follow the leader bit where we completely lose the up-close perspective of our main character and instead see the house just as humans normally would. Then all of a sudden, the cat is after him again? This story seems all jumbled up. I think it could have been much better with a stronger editor to sort out one of those storylines for this book.

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

The general concept of the book is that Mouse gets lost and is trying to find his way home.

This story has some pros-
-There is rhyming and a lot of action words
- The text easily sets itself up for prompting questions to keep the kids engaged
- This story could be used for a number of different themes: animal, adventure, concepts, etc.

However there were some down sides too-
- I REALLY didn't like the illustrations. The colors were really faded and the pictures, therefore, are impossible to see at any distance. Making this not at all a good choice for a medium to large sized storytime group
- At times there were several sentences on each page. Making the book a bit too long for a toddler storytime.
- Lastly I just wasn't a huge fan of the flow of the story. There was a lot of dialogue from a number of characters so unless the reader is pretty good at different voices for different characters, listeners may get confused on who is saying what

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Itsy-bitsy baby mouse
Tap and tumble ’round the house
Chase a busy buzzy fly
Creap and leap and reach up high...

Baby Mouse’s curiosity lets him discover all sorts of things—but it has also led him away from his parents. Lost in a large house, this itsy-bitsy baby mouse seeks to find something familiar that could lead him home.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. Didn't love the illustrations. Moral--if you leave your house there is a good and real chance that you will die.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't as impressed with this. At least, my expectations weren't really met by the title and the promise of really cute pictures. It was a little guy's experience of trying to find his way home. I'm sure kids would enjoy that in a lap-read or read-alone. I don't think I'd read it very well in a storytime because I just don't feel very behind it. Not one I love, but I'm sure others will still enjoy it.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would be great for a big and little storytime and as a writing prompt when teaching about perspective.You've also gotta love a ladybug sidekick. It rhymed so nicely and naturally I didn't even realize it was a rhyming book until a few pages in.

[Christine Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would work better as a one on one read a loud due to the illustrations. Very cute but I don't think it would work as well for a large storytime group.


Subjects

Missing children -- Juvenile fiction.

Mice -- Juvenile fiction

Stories in rhyme

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby Mouse's explorations leave him lost in the "world" of his home. perspective in illustrations make it a sort of "what do you see" page-turner, and every child will empathize with the feeling of losing one's landmarks even when close to home.

[Christina Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a great book to teach children about rhyming words. It also shows the mouse getting lost and stumbling across different obstacles throughout the house. I liked how he had a ladybug sidekick along side him and he bumped into someone who could help him find his way back.

[midnightfaerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book for preschoolers and younger. The illustrations are adorable and the simple language was easily repeatable my my 3 yr olds. No educational value except for reading and instilling the love of books in your child! Highly recommended for the smaller children.

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable book with rhyming text. Teaching kids what to do when you are lost.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun story of a little mouse, especially liked the illustrations.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, sweet story about a lost mouse finding his way home.

[Pedro · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not to impressed. I don't have a high standard for what I read, but this book would do for story time, if I need a last minute read.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great rhymes!

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute characters and potential for funny voices make this a good read aloud or book recommendation for young readers.

[Marcie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't do much for me. The rhymes seemed forced and the illustrations seemed made to mach the rhmes, not enhance them.

[Michelle Nero · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny little rhyming story about an itsy bitsy baby mouse who loses his way during play. Loved the adorable illustrations!

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about a mouse who gets lost in a house. Nice rhyming book that my Pre-K students enjoyed.

[Peacegal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't really as clever as I was expecting it to be.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby Mouse is having so much fun playing and exploring that it soon realizes it is lot. How will Baby Mouse find its way home?

[Sarah Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

super super cute book!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fun for storytime. The rhythm and subject matter reminded me a lot of Llama Llama Red Pajama.