Mouse

Mouse is written by Angie Sage. It was published in 2001 by Penguin Group.

Lexile Level: N/A      Ages: 9-12

Summary:

     Mouse is an early chapter book.

     Mouse is Izzy's best friend, they do everything together. Except one thing, school. One day Mouse is determined to go to school with Izzy, so he sneaks into her backpack. At school she has lots of excitement on what turns out to be a truly magical day.

Evaluation and Illustrations:

      Mouse is a great introductory chapter book for younger students. It is a sixty page book that has a picture on almost every page. The chapters are also very short ranging from six to eight pages. This story has a great message that is told from the Mouse's point of view. The mouse spends his days at home bored while Izzy is at school so he finds a way to secretly spend the day with her. I do not think this book is realistic at all because a mouse cannot talk back to a human or give themselves a bath, but it is a creative fiction story.

     The illustrations in this book are bright and colorful that makes it exciting to keep reading. The mouse is displayed in almost all of the illustrations and his expression is clear, whether he is angry, happy, sad, or scared. There is also great detail in the illustrations when mouse is going to take a bath there is a bathroom background that has bubbles floating around, bathroom tiles of all colors, and a mirror that has a clear reflection.

Literary Elements:

     Angie Sage uses onomatopoeia throughout Mouse for example the words aaargh, er, ow, and eurgh. Sage also uses personification because the main character mouse is given human characteristics such as talking. The characters in this story include Mouse and Izzy.

1. Onomatopoeia: er, ow, eurgh, aaargh
2. Personification: mouse can talk
3. Characters: Mouse and Izzy

In the Classroom:

     I would use this book as an introduction to chapters and what a chapter is. As students are becoming aware of chapter books they should be introduced to fun and colorful stories as they transition from picture books. I would also use this book to explain to students what personification is.