Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Oakdale Library | EASY YAM | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
"This clever take on the afraid-to-go-to-school theme should have broad appeal." -School Library Journal
An adorable back to school story from Kazuo Iwamura!
It's time for seven little mice to start school! And it's up to Mother Mouse to get them there. When the little mice prove reluctant, Mother Mouse invents "the mouse train" -- all aboard!
"Assuaging the anxieties of one first-time student is tough enough, let alone seven. This story about finding creative solutions unfolds with understated elegance..." -Publishers Weekly
Author Notes
Kazuo Iwamura was born in Tokyo. He is one of the most famous picture book artists in Japan. His work has won many awards. He lives in Tochigi, where he founded the Museum for Picture Book Illustrations. It stands on a hill named Ehon-no-Oka, which means Picture Book Hill.
Haruo Yamashita graduated from Kyoto University with a major in French literature. Born in Tokyo, he spent much of his childhood by the ocean. He now lives in Atami, a beautiful seaside city, where he loves to sail his boat in the harbor. He is known in Japan as the "author who lives by and loves the ocean."
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Mama Mouse has seven little mice who are about to start school. Even though she has outfitted them in new hats, shoes, and book bags, the septuplets are reluctant to go. They worry that school is too far away, they will be too sleepy, there will be bullies, or they might encounter a snake on the way. Clever Mama gets an idea. The night before the big day she takes two blue balls of yarn and makes a path through the forest all the way to school. The next morning she announces, "All aboard! The train for school is leaving now!" and makes her way on the path. The children eagerly pick up on the game and follow along, holding on to one another's tails. When the Mouse Train goes through a tunnel, Mama Mouse and the children encounter a snake. It is as surprised as the mice and slithers away in fright. By now, many more mice youngsters have joined the train and Mama marches everyone off to school. The pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations perfectly complement the story. The mice are all individualized with gently humorous details and the palette is appropriate for the woodland setting. The scene in the tunnel with the snake is dark and ominous. This clever take on the afraid-to-go-to-school theme should have broad appeal.-Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Assuaging the anxieties of one first-time student is tough enough, let alone seven. In this story, first published in Japan in 1981, an industrious mouse mother hatches a plan for getting her septuplets to school, rolling out two lines of yarn along the path through the woods. In the morning, she announces, "All aboard!" and the seven curious mice line up, with the yarn becoming the train tracks. Along the way, the "Mouse Train" picks up more "passengers," and the mice even scare off a snake. This story about finding creative solutions unfolds with understated elegance-and for a 30-year-old story, it holds up. Ages 3-up. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
REVIEW MISSING (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
This delicate Japanese import is less about assuaging school fears than about a tricky mother who gets her children to go to school against their many and varied protests.It is the day before school starts, and the septuplets ("like twins only there are seven") are all ready for school with new hats, bags and shoes. But Mother must face the fact that her children do not want to go to school. They'll be too tired, the wind will be too cold, they'll meet a snake and they won't know anyone; these are among their many excuses. Cleverly, Mother plans for the morning by unwinding two balls of yarn, making parallel lines that stretch from home all the way to school. She is unruffled when the children ignore her announcement that it is time for schoolshe just calmly steps out, stands between the strings and announces that the school train is departing. This piques the kids' interest, and they are out of the house in no time, following along. But will some of their fears come true? This episode is a rather disappointing departure from the septuplets' previous adventure, in which they were the ones to solve the problem (Mice at the Beach, 1987). Iwamura's precise, softly colored illustrations, while adorable, add little narrative heft to the slight story.Some students may jump on the train to act this out on the first day of school, but it lacks the humor that would give it lasting appeal. (Picture book. 3-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Both sweet and scary, this picture book, first published in Japan 30 years ago, zeroes in on the universal panic about the first day of school. Each of seven little mice siblings has a different fear: school is too far away; the wind will be cold; we won't know anyone; what if there's a snake? Their loving mother helps get her young safely to class by instructing them to hold on to each other's tails to make a big Mouse Train on the path she makes through the forest. They do meet a snake, but together with the classmates who join them on the Mouse Train, they scare the creature away. Along with the triumphant confrontation, the train game will appeal to children, as will the detailed line-and-color close-ups that show the body language of each nervous, small mouse dressed for school in a new outfit.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2010 Booklist
