Charlie & Mouse (Charlie & Mouse Series #1)

by Laurel Snyder, Emily Hughes (Illustrator)

Overview

Four hilarious stories, two inventive brothers, one irresistible book! Join Charlie and Mouse as they talk to lumps, take the neighborhood to a party, sell some rocks, and invent the bedtime banana. With imagination and humor, Laurel Snyder and Emily Hughes paint a lively picture of brotherhood that children will relish in a format perfect for children not quite ready for chapter books.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452131535
Publisher:	Chronicle Books LLC
Publication date:	04/11/2017
Series:	Charlie & Mouse Series , #1
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	230L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Laurel Snyder is the author of many books for children. She lives and writes in a small yellow house in Atlanta, Georgia, which she shares with her husband and two sons.

Emily Hughes is an illustrator (and sometimes writer) who lives in windy Brighton, England.

Editorial Reviews

★ 02/13/2017
In four ebullient linked stories, Snyder (Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova) and Hughes (A Brave Bear) introduce the two eponymous brothers and their down-to-earth family. “I am a mom,” says Mom when she refuses to come out from under the covers early one morning. “I can do what I want.” From there, readers follow along as Charlie and Mouse organize an impromptu party at a playground, try to make money selling rocks (a nifty twist makes this the best story in the book), and try to postpone bedtime as long as possible. “We cannot go to sleep without a bedtime banana,” says Mouse, backing up Charlie. It’s a friendly, hang-loose world: the boys share a bed, Mouse dons a tutu for the playground party, and the customers for the boys’ rock-selling business include a gay couple, Mr. Erik and Mr. Michael. The emphasis on dialogue gives the stories the immediacy of a play script, and Hughes’s easygoing vignettes add just the right amount of visual punctuation. Ages 6–9. Author’s agent: Tina Wexler, ICM. Illustrator’s agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Charlie and Mouse has to be one of our favorites of the entire year, so far. It so easily elicits giggles!"--The Children's Book Review

Washington Post Best Children's Books of the Year

Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year

"Utterly endearing."--Julie Danielson, Kirkus Reviews

"Sweet and funny."--The Wall Street Journal

"Relatable and endearing with a touch of humor."--Imagination Soup

"Plenty of repetition, short sentences, and wide spacing provide effective scaffolding for beginning readers."-The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Four ebullient linked stories introduce the two eponymous brothers and their down-to-earth family."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Filled to the brim with sincere, slice-of-life sibling moments."-The Horn Book Magazine

"Delightful" - School Library Connection

"A top-notch early reader, with words and art in perfect step."-Kirkus Reviews, starred review

From the Publisher

Charlie and Mouse are brothers who are creative and adventurous. The short chapters in this book chronicle their ideas, foibles, and mishaps. Some aspects of their story may be difficult for readers for comprehension reasons—for example, “talking lumps,” and a boy named “Mouse,” yet a blanket named “Blanket.” But taken as a whole, they are brothers who love spending time together and complement the other’s spirit. The story has some vocabulary words that may require adult help or some knowledge of strategies to figure out unknown words, like “sustain.” The chapters are only a few pages each, which serves to split up the story into smaller, more manageable sub-stories for readers. The illustrations are artful and detailed; but some do not match the text around them, which could be confusing for readers. For maximum comprehension, this book would be best read with an adult who can help guide readers through it. Reviewer: Laura Dekle; Ages 4 to 8.

Children's Literature - Laura Dekle

01/01/2017
K-Gr 2—This early reader series opener offers likable characters but an underdeveloped story. Charlie and Mouse are brothers with loving parents and a diverse group of friends and neighbors. They take part in simple childhood pastimes: a neighborhood party, a money-making plan, a bedtime snack. They do everything together, from the moment they wake up in the morning until they go to sleep in the same bed at night. Snyder infuses each tale with humor, and young readers will enjoy illustrator Hughes's depictions of each character, especially the facial expressions. Repetitive language supports emergent readers looking to try chapter books. However, the first two chapters fly by without giving readers the opportunity to get to know the characters better. Early events don't always make sense; for example, there's no clear reason why the characters have a neighborhood party, and it seems anticlimactic. Charlie and Mouse appear to get along exceptionally well for two young siblings, which doesn't feel particularly realistic. The last two chapters are much more fleshed out, and readers who have taken to Charlie and Mouse will most certainly look forward to the next book in the series. VERDICT Early reader collections will benefit from this new series, especially if future volumes incorporate stronger storytelling.—Casey O'Leary, Mooresville Public Library, IN

School Library Journal

★ 2017-02-01
Two brothers create four fine and loopy entertainments to fill their day.At daybreak, "Charlie woke up. There was a lump beside him." (In bed, under the covers, as Hughes' wry artwork relates.) "He poked the lump. The lump moaned." It's Mouse, who moans that he is sleeping. Charlie challenges that. "How can you be sleeping?...You are talking." They get up and go poke the two lumps in their parents' bed. "I am a mom," the lump announces. "I can do what I want." This same spirit informs the following three sagas in this early reader. One is a gathering parade to a neighborhood party, featuring a variety of genders, classes, and races. Mixed-race Charlie and Mouse have a white mom and an Asian dad; Mouse, although he takes the masculine pronoun, wears a pink tutu. Next Charlie and Mouse try to earn some money by selling rocks. Neither the elderly brown lady nor the interracial gay couple are in the market, but they do need rocks removed and will pay for the service. Mom, want it or not, gets a rock garden. Lastly, the boys create a new tradition: a bedtime banana, only to conspire after lights out that a bedtime Popsicle may be better. Snyder serves the stories with propulsive good cheer and a pleasing cadence, keeping the pages flipping, while Hughes' illustrations have crazy-quilt complexity and visual texture. A top-notch early reader, with words and art in perfect step. (Early reader. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews