The Children’s Book Review | September 18, 2016
Mousequerade Ball: A Counting Tale
Written by Lori Mortensen
Illustrated by Betsy Lewin
Age Range: 0-5 years
Board Book: 29 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury (2016)
ISBN: 978-1-619634220
What to expect: Counting, rhyming, animal friends
Night is drawing near, and it’s almost time for the Mousequerade Ball! Tiny mice in a grand mansion are preparing for the fun by counting down the ways to get ready. First they light the fires, then they sweep, then they start to dance to the swinging beat! There’s delicious food, mincing mice lords and fancy lady mice in colorful dresses. Mice play the lute and ladies dance cheek to cheek, just like any human party.
But wait! Who is the mysterious guest at the door?
A cat! As the mice scurry to safety, up the stairs, into wall cracks, into sacks—one brave little mouse realizes the cat isn’t there to terrorize. The cat has come to dance! The little mouse and the cat bow and begin to dance again. And so the walz continues, and the Mousequerade Ball moves once more. This time with an unexpected, but gallant, guest cat. Who knew everyone could get along?
This adorable counting book rhymes along to a cute story. Children will love the sweet little mice getting ready for a party. The illustrations are colorful and detailed. You will look through each illustration over and over, trying to find out how many little mice are there in dresses? How many lords are running up the stairs? This, of course, provides even more counting practice. Ms. Lewin is a talented illustrator, capturing fun and swinging movement in tiny board book pages. The rhymes are sweet and the words are perfect for toddlers and Ms. Mortensen excels at capturing toddler attention and even keeping adults entertained while reading (again and again, I might add).
Highly recommended for babies and toddlers!
Available Here:
About the Author
Lori Mortensen is the author of more than three dozen books that include fiction and nonfiction, picture books, early readers, first graphic novels, and middle- grade nonfiction. Her most recent picture book Cowpoke Clyde and Dirty Dawg was chosen as a Bank Street Best Book of 2014 and an Amazon Best Book of the Year.
For more information, visit: www.lorimortensen.com
About the Illustrator
Betsy Lewin is the bestselling Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator of Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type and its sequels, Giggle, Giggle, Quack; Duck for President; Dooby Dooby Moo; and Thump, Quack, Moo; in addition to a number of other picture books, including So, What’s It Like to Be a Cat? and Where Is Tippy Toes? She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
For more information, visit: www.betsylewin.com
Mousequerade Ball: A Counting Tale, written by Lori Mortensen and illustrated by Betsy Lewin, was reviewed by Denise Mealy. Discover more books like Mousequerade Ball: A Counting Tale by following along with our reviews and articles tagged with Counting, Mice, Rhyming and Board Books.
