Charlie & Mouse

Charlie & Mouse. (Charlie & Mouse #1) Laurel Snyder. Illustrated by Emily Hughes. 2017. Chronicle Books. 48 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Charlie woke up. There was a lump beside him. He poked the lump. The lump moaned. "Are you awake?" Charlie asked. "No," said the lump. "I am sleeping." "How can you be sleeping?" asked Charlie. "You are talking." The lump stopped talking. Charlie poked the lump again. "Get up," he said to the lump. The lump did not get up.

Premise/plot: Charlie & Mouse is a picture book with four chapters: "The Lump," "The Party," "Rocks," and "Bedtime Bananas." Charlie and Mouse are brothers who have adventures together.

My thoughts: I dare you not to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Charlie and Mouse by the end. As for me, well, I was hooked by the second or third page. What did I love about this one? What did I NOT love? (The endpapers. That's the only thing I can think of that I didn't love.)

I loved, loved, loved the writing, the dialogue. It was this dialogue that had me hooked from the first chapter.

"Mom," said Mouse. "Dad!" He opened a door. He found two lumps. Mouse poked one of the lumps. "Are you awake?" "No," said the lump. "We are sleeping." "How can you be sleeping?" asked Mouse. "You are talking." "I am a mom," said the lump. "I can do what I want."

I loved the stories. The first chapter shows the two brothers at the start of the day. The last chapter shows the two brothers at the end of the day. Thus the book gives us a complete day. I'm not sure I could pick a favorite chapter. I really enjoyed this one cover to cover.

I loved how the end of the book brings us--in a way--back to the beginning.

Charlie thought about Popsicles. He started to feel sleepy. He turned over. There was a lump beside him in the bed. It was really a very nice lump. "Goodnight," Charlie said. He patted the lump. "I'm sleeping," said the lump. "I can't hear you."

I loved the characters. I loved the relationships in this family. Dialogue can reveal so much!
Though it isn't a traditional size for an early chapter book, the amount of text to illustration is definitely makes this more of an early chapter book.


© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews