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Summary
Summary
One house, two mice, three cookies . . . and the adventure begins. In gorgeously illustrated spreads and two-word phrases, this picture book takes two mice through their exciting and eventful day. Funny, lively, and easy to follow, the book offers the youngest readers the chance to count from one to three and back again.
Sergio Ruzzier's illustrations display his signature quirky, colorful, and slightly surreal view of characters and settings, and the text is a minimalist gem. It's a perfect book to share one-on-one with a young child and a lovely lead-up to bedtime.
Author Notes
Sergio Ruzzier was born in Italy and now lives in New York City. His most recent book for Clarion is A Letter for Leo . He was named a Maurice Sendak Fellow in 2011. Visit his website at www.ruzzier.com.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In a book with the rhythms, if not the precise goals, of a counting book, Ruzzier (A Letter to Leo) follows two white mice into and out of several small predicaments. Like an undulating wave, two-word lines count from one to three, down to one, up to three again, and so on. The opening sequence ("One house/ Two mice/ Three cookies") introduces a frisson of tension as one mouse frowns at its single cookie while the other (identifiable by brown spots on its back) greedily devours two treats. The tables turn during the next sequence ("Three boats/ Two oars/ One rower") as the spotted mouse gets stuck piloting their rowboat, and the other relaxes. After "one shipwreck" and a close encounter with "three beaks" belonging to a nestful of baby birds, the mice find their way home for a soup dinner. The small dimensions of the book (not to mention its heroes), the reassuring patterns of Ruzzier's text, and the surrealist edge common to his artwork create an adventure with a scintillating combination of danger and comfort. Ages 4-7. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Using only two-word phrases (One house / Two mice / Three cookies) and a simple repeating number pattern (one, two, three; three, two, one; one, two, three), this clever book (with an extra-small, preschooler-perfect trim size) creates a fast-paced adventure for listeners and new readers alike. Expressive, mildly mischievous pen-and-ink illustrations in soft colors develop details and drama that the words leave out. For instance, in the pictures, when the two mice share three cookies, the spotted mouse gets two cookies, while the plain mouse, miffed, gets only one. Before long, the mice venture out to sea (Three boats / Two oars / One rower), and this time its spotted mouse who does all the work, while plain mouse takes it easy in the boats stern. Soon the situation grows direThree rocks / Two holes / One shipwreck. They nearly become a raptors dinner before managing One escape. The two work together as a team after this near- disaster, and Three carrots / Two onions lead to a final nourishing One soup that both mice are happy to shareequally. Sometimes the pattern leaves the reader with practical questions: how did One nest / Two eggs hatch into Three ducklings, for instance? But trying to fit together all the pieces is part of the fun, and the books creative focus on pattern in plot leaves plenty of room for readers imaginations to play a strong role. julie roach(c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
New York Review of Books Review
There's so much you can do with just the first three numbers, as Ruzzier ("A Letter for Leo") shows in this compact take on the counting book. Two mice, drawn with Ruzzier's usual warm quirkiness, confront visual problems in the form of one, two or three - boats and oars or, suspensefully, a mama eagle with three mouths to feed. What a cute, clever way into number sense. THE GREAT AND MIGHTY NIKKO! A Bilingual Counting Book. Written and illustrated by Xavier Garza. 32 pp. Cinco Puntos. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 2 to 7) Lucha libre fans who also have little ones to share books with: Rejoice! Garza brings the Mexican masked wrestlers into the home of a boy named Nikko with bursts of comics-style color and a muralist's larger-than-life energy. Nikko's mother says to stop wrestling on his bed. The luchadores keep increasing one by one, until there are 10 - and an epic battle in side-by-side English and Spanish. WHAT IN THE WORLD? Numbers in Nature By Nancy Raines Day. Illustrated by Kurt Cyrus. 32 pp. Beach Lane. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) The numerical nature of nature forms the basis of this elegant rhymed counting book, which calls attention to orderly patterns all around us. What comes grouped in threes? "Leaves of a clover, bodies of bees." Nines? "Stickleback fish's prickly spines." We end with a set that is "too big to count" - stars in the night sky, in constellations shaped like the previous numbered things. CHARLIE PIECHART AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING PIZZA SLICE By Eric Comstock and Marilyn Sadler. 40 pp. Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) In this retro-pop treat, pizza night at Charlie's house requires some fleet calculations: If you've ordered pies for "particular" eaters, you'll relate. Our hero has the advantage of a love of fractions and a body that is actually a pie chart, which comes in handy when a slice goes missing. Mom and Dad help out by splitting one, though Charlie's sleuthing eventually leads to the culprit. SECRET CODERS By Gene Luen Yang. Illustrated by Mike Holmes. 91 pp. First Second. Paper. $9.99. (Graphic novel; ages 8 and up) Not until the end of this ingenious book does Yang ("Boxers" and "Saints") show his hand: "They're just lists of instructions, nothing more," we learn of computer programs. By then our basketball-loving heroes - a girl, Hopper, and a boy, Eni - have used basic coding principles to crack a mystery involving four-eyed birds and a creepy school janitor. The next installment can't come soon enough. ONLINE An expanded visual presentation at nytimes.com/books.
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-"One house/Two mice/Three cookies./Three boats/Two oars/One rower." Counting up to three and down to one again and again forms the structure and narrative of this slim story. Pen-and-ink illustrations show two mouse friends-sometimes naughty, sometimes grumpy, always together-having an adventure involving a shipwreck, danger, and the perfect pot of soup. The counting device, forward and backward, may confuse some children, while others will enjoy the simplicity and rhythm. VERDICT An unusual but sweetly satisfying offering, this title will be a lively addition to most libraries.-Martha Link Yesowitch, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, NC © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The deceptively simple counting story of two mice, their adventure, and friendship. One morning in Ruzzier's imaginative and colorful world, two mice wake to explore. The tiny window above the bed beckons: water, mountains, and sky are waiting for these two. Starting before the title and ending on the copyright page, minimal text says all that is needed: "One house / Two mice / Three cookies. / Three boats / Two oars / One rower. / One nest / Two eggs / Three ducklings." New readers will soon notice the number pattern and slow down to see how the droll illustrations extend the story. For instance, the mouse with one cookie has an angry expression and a rather tightly curled tail, while the loose-tailed mouse looks gleeful as it chows down on two cookies. The sunny rowboat scene is not so sunny for the mouse who has to manage the two oars. By the time the two buddies return to their home, all is forgiven when the delicious soup is served. (And, in a visual nod to Sendak, it is clearly "still hot.") The small trim size and careful attention to details give this book enormous appeal; the decorative floor tiles, ornamental feet on the kitchen table, and mismatched stools fit right in with the red hills and ever changing sky. The simplicity of the text means that the earliest readers will soon be able to pick it up and will return to it over and over. One story. Two mice. Three cheers. Lots to love. (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
