Charlie & Mouse Even Better

Charlie & Mouse #3

by Laurel Snyder, Emily Hughes (Illustrator)

It is Mom's birthday, and Charlie and Mouse and their Dad want everything to be perfect--so when the cake gets burnt the boys have to come up with a new plan, pronto.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens, Chapter Books, Humor, Fiction, Kids

40 pages, Hardcover

Published April 2, 2019

About the author

Laurel Snyder is the author of six children's novels, "Orphan Island," "Seven Stories Up," "Bigger than a Bread Box," "Penny Dreadful," "Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains OR The Search for a Suitable Princess" and "Any Which Wall" (Random House) as well as many picture books, including "Charlie & Mouse," "The Forever Garden," "Swan, the life and dance of Anna Pavlova," and "Baxter, the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher."

A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a former Michener Fellow, she also writes books for grownups, and is the author of a book of poems, "The Myth of the Simple Machines" (No Tell Books) and a chapbook, "Daphne & Jim: a choose-your-own-adventure biography in verse (Burnside Review Press) and the editor of an anthology, "Half/Life: Jew-ish Tales from Interfaith Homes" (Soft Skull Press).

Though Baltimore will always be her home, she now lives happily in Atlanta.

Reviews

[Amanda]

I swear that Laurel Snyder knows exactly what my kids are doing/thinking when she writes these books; they are so spot on for what kids do and say.

[Kathryn]

Adorable story involving Charlie and Mouse's (and Dad's) attempts to make Mom's birthday special.

[Becky]

First sentence: Mom was making pancakes.

Premise/plot: This is the third book starring the oh-so-adorable boys Charlie and Mouse. In this one the family is getting ready to celebrate a birthday—the mom’s birthday. Will the day go smoothly and according to plan?! Or will the day be a bit unconventional?! The chapters are “Pancakes,” “Shopping,” “Helping,” and “Surprise.”

My thoughts: I really loved the first two books in the series. I found them delightful, charming, cute, funny. I definitely enjoyed this one as well. I did. I think I will always read about Charlie and Mouse with a smile on my face. Did I love, love, love this one? I don’t know that I would go so far in my gushing. But I would gush about the series as a whole.

[Shaye Miller]

If you’ve loved the other books in the Charlie & Mouse, then I’d say you’re in for a treat with the latest addition to the series about two little brothers. Book #3 is focused on mom’s birthday — including picking out a present and resolving a cooking catastrophe. One thing we know for sure by the end of this book: Mom’s the best! It’s super cute and, of course, great for emergent readers who want simple text in chapter book format. The artwork was created by hand and with Photoshop.

For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!

[Jess]

April 2019 - gosh, I love Charlie and Mouse. The humor is so spot-on, the text is good for beginning readers, but doesn't feel stilted the way so many easy readers do, and the illustrations are charming. The pancake, the tape - oh, the tape! Does Laurel Snyder live at my house? (Mark and I laughed at the tape, but Ben - my tape-loving kid - didn't get the joke, which made it even funnier). And Mouse in the frog outfit is the cutest thing.

[Julie]

Another fabulous installment in the Charlie and Mouse series. The understated humor and stories that adults can relate with make these books fun for kids and adults.

[Lynn]

Laurel Snyd,er channels kids better than almost any writer! Charlie & Mouse return, this time with pancakes, their mom's birthday and tape. Absolutely adorable

[Melissa]

We love the Charlie and Mouse books, fun daily antics from brothers.

[Casey]

My 3 year old daughter grabs books off library shelves like a kleptomaniac on speed, and randomly snagged this one on our latest haul. She and my 5 year old son cracked up at Mouse's witticisms and frog costume. I enjoyed the sly humor from Mom, and the decision by Charlie and Mouse against buying her a box for keeping secrets as a birthday gift because they both "like to snoop". There is a lot of humor here for both kids and adults to appreciate, which I think is hard to pull off. The vocabulary is pretty advanced for a 3 and 5 year old, but the length is just right for their attention spans, with just the right amount of text on each page. I plan to seek out more in the series.

[Great Books]

Join Charlie & Mouse in this adventure to make the best birthday gift for Mom. Organized into three easy chapters, this tale of accepting mistakes and making best of them will resonate with families. This book has a focus on dialogue which will help your children move onto more complex chapter books.

Reviewer #13

[emyrose8]

My favorite one of all the Charlie and Mouse books. Those kids are so sweet! This one focuses on their mom, particularly her birthday.

[Morgan]

I love these books so stinkin' much. Mouse 4ever.

[Jenn]

Another fabulous Charlie & Mouse book. Yay!

[MaryLibrarianOH]

Charlie and Mouse are back and this time they are spending time with mom and dad.

[Cara Byrne]

With its four short chapters that build upon each other, Synder's book captures little ones' precocious comments and ingenuity. Great for 5-6 year old developing readers.

[Patti]

Adorable and funny, Charlie & Mouse have another adventure! Deceptively simple, this sweet story captures the thoughts, actions and imagination of little ones perfectly! Recommended for pre-K-2nd grade, but moms & dads will love it too!

[Jo Oehrlein]

4 fun stories that are connected very well. I like "Even Better" as a good title for the 3rd book in a series and also as a title for these 3 stories.

The stories made me giggle. From "It is a dragon that annoyed its mother.....It asked for too many pancakes." to not being able to wrap a present of tape because the tape can't be found to "...hug me for four minutes."

[Jessie]

This is cute and fun, and I giggled.

I wasn't sure how connected the three stories would be, but they're pretty tightly tied. "Even better" and pancakes come back from the first story at the end of the third, and the third story continues the second in some ways.

[Pam Jones-Nill]

Perfection as a goal is ok, but when things don't turn out exactly as planned Charlie and Mouse creatively make things even better. Each chapter reads as a stand-alone joke that parent readers will most certainly enjoy.

[Sarah]

Oh, these two are so cute! In this little chapter book, they prepare for mom's birthday by shopping, decorating, and doing some unexpecting cooking. Each chapter ends with a little joke and overall the whole story is heartwarming.

[Allison]

I love Charlie and Mouse. So sweet, with a little humor.

[Alice]

4 stars for this adorable duo

[Barbara]

This third title featuring Charlie and his little brother Mouse has just as much appeal as the earlier two books in the series. If I were a child, I'd probably rate this book a 5 because the author has effectively captured the essence of childhood in the four short stories presented here. Created in graphite and Photoshop, the illustrations capture the facial expressions of the two rambunctious boys as well as their long-suffering but loving parents. Readers can watch as Mom's patience starts to run thin while she's cooking pancakes to resemble various animals at the request of the boys. The other three stories, "Shopping," "Helping," and "Surprise," all revolve around Mom's birthday. Parents will be able to relate to the boys' desire to find something special for their mother only to choose something practical and affordable. Along with their father, they somehow manage to make even the messiest situation turn out okay. For its intended audience, nothing could be even better than Charlie & Mouse except maybe another book about them.

[Stephanie Bange]

Another charming addition to this beginning reader series of stories about a brother and sister and their views of life.

Mother's birthday is coming up. Charlie and Mouse help Dad prepare for the grand day, saving the day when the birthday cake he made is burned. Divided into four short chapter/stories, they are cheerful, uplifting, and empowering. Emily Hughes' illustrations were hand drawn in graphite and colored in using Photoshop. Eagle-eyed readers will note these are set in Hawaii.

Recommended for PreSchool-grade 2.

[Raven Black]

One of those cute books that you like but not necessarily go OMG BEST BOOK EVER but do enjoy. There is much text, allowing it to grow with the child. A good read-aloud or first/second grade read. The characters rambunctious kids but not necessarily "over the top." Modern feel, but not necessarily "preachy." Fun art that has a lot of details but colors and the amount work well for the story. A "comedy of errors" about trying to great ready for a special event.

[Roben]

I love the Charlie and Mouse books. Grumpy is my favorite but this one is excellent also. The characters are realistic and so are the situations. Making pancakes for breakfast (you can only push mom so far...), shopping for birthday presents; and trying to plan a surprise for mom as everything comes full circle by the end of the book. Plus they have a dry sense of humor thrown in. An excellent choice as a read-aloud or for your reader who is ready to move up to short chapter books.

[Cheriee Weichel]

I love love this series.
I love this family. I love Emily Hughes illustrations.
Pancakes, birthday shopping and special cake for mom are dealt with in these three stories.
Unfortunately my grandkids won't sit still for this much text on a page, but I did catch Ada, browsing through the book on her own.

[Amanda]

My favorite Charlie & Mouse book (perhaps because I am a mother?) This is a great book for young readers who are ready for easy chapter books and for grown-ups to read to pre-readers. The humor and way the children think and talk are both true-to-life and make it an enjoyable read for both children and adults.

[Katie]

Charlie and Mouse are adorable little brothers! My four year old loves everything about them and relates to their fun! I read this aloud to my son, and he loves it!!

In this book, Mom makes pancakes, the boys go shopping with dad, and try to help prepare the house for a birthday surprise for Mom!

[FM Family]

My four year old and I enjoyed this whole series of early readers about two siblings, Charlie and Mouse who go around doing stuff. Strikes that great early reader balance of being fairly mundane but also engaging and keeping stories short and illustrations bright. If you like one in the series you’ll like them all.