Whose Mouse Are You?

by Robert Kraus, José Aruego (Illustrator)

Children's book on audio tape.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Family, Animals, Classics, Storytime

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Robert Kraus was an American children's author, cartoonist and publisher. Founder and publisher of Windmill Books, author and illustrator of award-winning children's books, Kraus began as a cartoonist and cover artist for The New Yorker. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_...]

Reviews

[Chicklet · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of my kids liked this book very much at one point, mainly due to one page where the mouse is riding around in a car with a track all over the page.
I read it to one of my kids last night and decided to give it away.
I don't care for the storyline. The mouse is asked if he is the mouse of various members of his family. He replies telling how something has happened to each family member. Then he saves all his family and claims to be his father's mouse, his mother's, etc. Who you are is not based on your family or whether or not they favor you. While I would smile to hear a child of mine saying they are their "mother's child", I would not like them to be defined as so. I would rather they judge themselves on their own merits, that they learn to approve of themselves.
Yes, I know I'm reading a lot into a simple story. To be fair, this is listed in our county library system in a pamphlet titled, 100 Books Every Child Should Hear Before Starting School. I don't agree with it being there! There are far more worthy books available.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very short and simple book for little kids. The little mouse deftly explains where all his family has gone, rescues them (yay!), and snuggles in their love for him. Seriously, what's not to love about a book where a kid can save the parents?

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

So precious! Usually the main characters represent an aspect of childhood. This mouse tells how he belongs to others. He even helps save them from misfortune. This was such a sweet story!

[Georgia Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I missed this book when my kids were little. Better late than never. It is a gem. The mouse at the heart of this story is sad, lonely, and afraid. Sounds like a downer but this mouse finds a way out. The mouse gets strong and helps others, too. This is a hero for very young children (the text is short and easy). And in its wisdom, parents will take to it, too. "Inspiring" is an overused word often for books. But, here applies.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, I admit it, I'm rating this book higher than I think my niece and nephew would. The kids both liked this story, but probably not any more than perhaps a three star rating would justify. But my mother read this story to me a lot when I was a kid, and I had forgotten all about it up until it showed up as a recommendation for me here on Goodreads! As soon as I saw the image of the cover, this story raced back into my memory, and I remembered how much I *loved* this story when I was a kid! I loved the colors, and the pictures, and the way my mom read this book to me. Reading this book to my niece and nephew was just a lovely experience to me. I was a kid again, and an auntie both at the same time. I'm lucky, and I get to have that feeling a lot with my niece and nephew, but rarely do I get to have it with them over a book that I loved so much as a kid.

[Dna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have NEVER forgotten the defining classic of my early childhood, Leo the Late Bloomer, also authored by Robert Kraus and illustrated by Jose Aruego. My 1st grade teacher read it aloud one day and that was IT. You know what I mean? That first book that really hits you as a kid? It's so powerful. For years, I thought back on this book, wondering about Leo and how he'd progressed in life. Also, imagine my surprise when I found the book again and realized Leo was NOT a lion, but a shy tiger.

Whose Mouse Are You? is another tender exploration of the anxiety of wanting to belong, of wanting to fit in. Highly recommended. I am so looking forward to sharing this in storytime!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the picture book I remember most vividly from childhood. I think I had my parents read it every day. Having read it in adulthood, I still love it, whether from nostalgia or because it's a really cute book.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Whose Mouse Are You?" is a really cute children's book. It has very colorful illustrations. My favorite part of the book is when the mouse saves his mother from the cat. This story would be great for anyone to read to little children before bedtime.

[Jared Pence · Rating 5 out of 5]

A literary masterpiece!

[Amanda Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book when I was in kindergarten so many years ago. I could not stop gazing at the page, "my father's mouse, from head to toe".

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was visiting our girls at school and went to the library with our oldest daughter's class. While they were in storytime, I perused the aisles and saw this book. I remember this book very well from my childhood, and I just had to read it again. Our oldest decided to borrow it and we read it again at bedtime.

The rhythmic and sort-of rhyming narrative is short and easy to read, but also sweet and sad, too. It's written as a kind of dialogue between the reader and the little mouse. The illustrations are cartoonish and bold, with lots of oranges, reds and yellows; they just scream of the early 1970s. I am not sure how many times I read this as a child, but I'm sure it was more than once and I also think that it is one of the reasons why I begged my Mom and Dad for a baby brother (unsuccessfully, I might add.)

Overall, this is a fun tale to read aloud and we enjoyed reading it together. And I really enjoyed my little stroll down memory lane.

July 2019 update: I had the opportunity to visit with a friend and check out a few boxes of children's books she had kept from her childhood and her son's. The books are quite old and many are out of print, so it was a wonderful chance to revisit with some stories I read when I was young and to discover others I'd never seen before.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whose Mouse Are You? is a short story of a little mouse who doesn't see his Mother because she is stuck in a cat, his father is in a trap, his sister is in a balloon far far away, and he has no brother. The mouse rescues his mother, father, and sister, and has a brother on the way. It was an easy to read story but I did not think it was a very good story. It was not an attention grabber in my opinion. I recommend this book to younger childern but not for young adults who want a good story.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book I used to teach myself to read. It's a wonderful, short, simple story. My mom read it to me over and over, to the point that I memorized it. I would then "read" it on my own and match up the words to what I saw on the page. Years later, once I had kids of my own, it's one that I returned to while teaching them to read. I couldn't guess at how many times I've both read it and recited it over the years. It's one of those books every parent should have on their book shelf.

[Todd LaMontagne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis: Whose Mouse Are You is written by Robert Kraus and illustrated by Jose Aruego. This very simple reading book asks the title question and presents the protagonist with a relatively grim answer. Essentially the mouse is alone in the world unless he is able to get his mother back from the cat, free his father from a trap...etc. After doing all of that, he/she finds his/her place.
Theme/Curriculum Connections: Family relations, anthropomorphism, question and answer
Age/Grade: Elementary (pre-school).

[Lindsey Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be good be for children to practice reading on their own. The vocabulary is simple, and depending on the reading level of the student, the words are easily recognizable or easy to sound out. There is a very simple plot, but very little tension. The whole book revolves around answering the question in the title, "whose mouse are you?" The illustrations are colorful and interesting to students. Out side of personal reading, I do not think this is a book that would be commonly read in a classroom setting.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story gives hope to all the children who feel like they are “nobody’s mouse” after their family has been destroyed by the System, which is artfully symbolized by the cat (predatory capitalism), the trap (penal system), and the mountains (foster care system). Imaginative illustrations in bold reds, oranges, and yellows demonstrate The Power of One—one mouseling’s actions can change the lives of many for the better—to restore this family to wholeness.

[V Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I ever read! Ma bribed me with chocolate cake to learn to read it. I memorized as she read it. I still have it memorized to this day. I also learned how to pass tests by memorizing answers without actually knowing the skills adults were supposed to teach me. That helped in school more than it should have. Also, thanks to these illustrations, red and orangey-reds became my favorite colors!

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both of my toddler grandchildren love this one, so I do too. It's the simple tale of a mouse that saves his family. Maybe the real kicker for them is that the mouse has a baby brother at the end, and both of my darlings are either expecting a new sibling or have one of their own.
I like the repetitive language, the stylized art, and that the little mouse becomes a hero.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gonna have to think about this one. A young mouse saves mom by shaking the cat that ate her? Heck, even when I was a child I didn't like the woodsman saving Little Red Riding Hood's granny by cutting open the wolf... too literal. Not for me, or anyone I know, but if you do like it, I'm happy for you.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short tale of a super hero rodent who is anything but mousey. The mouse wears no cape, but shaking the cat that swallowed your parent seems super hero brave to my students!

Mother Tongue Notes: The story comes mostly from the delightful illustrations, so there’s a big bang for your buck for more timid readers.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple book pulled for a PreK 3 classs coming for a Family story time, but used with the PreK 4's when the teacher said she had Peter's Chair.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a little odd - and the picture on the third page (of the mouse's mother in the cat's mouth) was a little startling. But if you're going to read it, don't let that stop you, because the mouse saves the day in the end.

Ages: 3 - 7

[Katelynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a short and simple book! We found a giant paper mache mouse from this book in an office at my work and are putting it on display. It stars off dark but we get a happy ending for the mouse family.

[Geoffwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

The wordplay is very basic just like exploration of relations but at the same time extremely whimsical. I don't think I can post an image but the art is just amazing. This guy could easily do tattoos or Judas Priest album covers.

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is Seth Meyers recommendation. His parents read it to him and it's his favorite children's book.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somebody taught my 5 year old the word "cute" and he accurately deploys it when we read this book.

I'm sure it's problematic, but it's adorable as heck.

[Hannah Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excuse me while I go shake my mother from the cat's belly and free my father from the trap of death. I love me some morbid picture books : ).

[Emily Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Bug’s favorite. Starts out a little strange—the mouse’s mother is inside a cat. This is the 30th anniversary edition, so it has been around awhile. Not seeing the appeal.

[Alondra Adame · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is from my childhood and means so much to me. My mother read the Spanish version, ¿De Quien Eres, Ratoncito?, to me as a baby and it is perfect for bilingual children.

[Kaylynn Johnsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone feels isolated at times. Fortunately we don't have to rescue all of our family members from life threatening situations.