CanLit for Little Canadians calls Miss Mousie "a charmed read"

This is from the Canlit for Little Canadians Web site, posted December 4, 2012:

... Tim Beiser and Rachel Berman's first collaboration, Bradley McGogg, the Very Fine Frog (Tundra, 2009), resulted in nominations for the Blue Spruce Award, the Chocolate Lily Book Award, the Governor General's Award for Children's Fiction Illustration, and the CBA Libris Award for Children's Picture Book of the Year. And the same sweet rhyming and endearing illustrations are evident in Miss Mousie's Blind Date, making it another charmed read. ...

The perfect collaboration of Tim Beiser and Rachel Berman takes Miss Mousie from crushing on the handsome rat to despairing over his disregard for her and finally to delight, with an ending that will please even those too young to know the pangs of first love but will understand the value of being oneself.

To read the full review, click HERE

Thanks, Washington Post!

The Washington Post recommends that you put a copy of Miss Mousie's Blind Date under your Christmas tree this year!

Christmas presents for the kids on your list

Marguerite Kelly
Family Almanac
Washington Post
Published December 4, 2012
...

For young readers

Some children are so besotted by words that they keep journals and read under the covers with a flashlight, so give them a grand game called Wordsearch! (Goliath, $25) and as many books, new or used, that you can afford.

“Caldecott Favorites” (Scholastic Storybook Treasures, $25) is a set of three DVDs that features 20 award-winning stories. It will not only entertain a 2-year-old but also give his big sister a chance to read these stories at the same time that the narrator reads them.

“Miss Mousie’s Blind Date” by Tim Beiser (Tundra, $18) will charm a preschooler, and “No Kiss for Mother,” a classic written and illustrated by Tomi Ungerer (Phaidon, $17), will resonate with any child whose mother smothers him with kisses. ...

(to read the full article, go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/advice/christmas-presents-for-the-kids-on-your-list/2012/12/03/908a91ce-37dc-11e2-a263-f0ebffed2f15_story.html )

The Manitoba Library Association Recommends "Miss Mousie"

From CM Magazine, Volume XIX, Number 5, published October 5, 2012

... Miss Mousie’s Blind Date is an adorable story of mouse love, with a quirky, dramatic main character that children will find funny. Miss Mousie is clumsy and insecure, but she has a big heart and an even bigger personality. The sentence structure is wonderful with smooth rhymes to be found within the sentences as well as at the end. The story rolls off the tongue, and is not too complex, or too long, to engage a child from start to finish.

      Berman’s illustrations are adorable, in a classic muted colour scheme style reminiscent of Frog and Toad. There is a lot to look at in each image, and the illustrations help add visual support to the story being told. There are some longer blocks of text, and the illustrations help give focus to these pages.

      I believe children will appreciate the whole package this story offers. Matt LaBatt may never get his comeuppance, but that is realistic, and our sense of justice is satisfied with the ultimate love connection. The moral may not be as well articulated as it is in many children's stories, but at least it inspires discussion.

Recommended.

Read the full review by Amber Allen HERE

You're Invited to a BOOK LAUNCH!

Tundra Books invites you to celebrate the launch of Miss Mousie's Blind Date, the second book from the award-winning author/illustrator team, Tim Beiser and Rachel Berman.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

2:00 to 4:00 pm

Ben McNally Books

366 Bay Street, Toronto

(416) 361-0032

Please RSVP to rsvpcanada@randomhouse.com

ALL ARE WELCOME -- ESPECIALLY CHILDREN!

Miss Mousie’s Blind Date will receive a STARRED review in the October 1st issue of Kirkus!!

MISS MOUSIE'S BLIND DATE [STARRED REVIEW!]
Author: Beiser, Tim
Illustrator: Berman, Rachel
Review Issue Date: October 1, 2012
Online Publish Date: September 15, 2012

Spring fever strikes even the rodents. And who knows where the heart leads?

"Spring is such a funny thing—it wakes up all the plants / And makes our furry woodland friends go cuckoo for romance." Indeed. One day, when Miss Mousie is shopping at the mole's deli, her heart stops at the sight of rakish Matt LaBatt (the water rat), who looks suave (and très Français) in striped shirt and kerchief. She can barely speak...or squeak. "Her little legs went weak." When she drops her hankie to catch his attention, Matt calls her fat, which brings tears to her eyes and sends her to bed for a day. What brings her out of sadness is an anonymous invitation to dinner; of course she knows just who it is! She dresses to the nines, and all the animals applaud her as she walks excitedly to her date. But the would-be suitor is not Matt the water rat; it's the kind mole who owns the deli. He tries all manner of slick techniques to woo her, and they fall comically flat. But in the end, he pledges to be himself if she will do the same. Her reply? "Oui-oui." Beiser's sprightly text has warmth, heart and a valuable lesson. Berman's pictures, in watercolor and gouache on rag, suggest Beatrix Potter, ably matching the crisp elegance of the story. Wonderful. 

(Picture book. 5-8)

BOOK REVIEW

Canadian Picture Books
from Canadian Literature: a Quarterly of Criticism and Review
Bradley McGogg, the Very Fine Frog. Tundra Books
Reviewed by Judith Saltman

Tim Beiser (Author) and Rachel Berman (Illustrator)

Bradley McGogg, the Very Fine Frog is a paperback issue of a 2008 publication. Beiser’s comic verse in rhyming couplets and catchy rhythm begs to be read aloud in this classic anthropomorphized animal fable of a hungry frog’s journey through his animal friends’ culinary tastes and talents, with the final return home and realization that his taste for his bog bugs is just right. Usually slightly nonsensical stories are matched by cartoon art. Berman’s fine draughtsmanship, however, is a comic realism blended with fine realist imagery and sets the tale in a British fantasy world of Edwardian clothing, class, and behaviour. The style recalls early twentieth-century classic children’s books with finely realized Beatrix Potteresque detail and echoes of the shadowy fields and woods of Arthur Rackham.

From http://canlit.ca/reviews/canadian_picture_books , accessed  24 Apr. 2012.

Miss Mousie's Blind Date is coming soon

Tundra Books has scheduled Tim Beiser's next book, Miss Mousie's Blind Date, for release this fall on October 9, 2012.

It's the tale of Miss Mousie, a shy and sensitive creature, who suffers a blow to her self-esteem when Matt LaBatt the water rat has the nerve to call her fat! While pining at home, she receives a mysterious invitation in the mail -- some unnamed gentleman has invited her out on a date. But who is it? Dare she go? Will he laugh at the way she looks? In a fit of inspiration, Miss Mousie hatches a clever plan.

Bradley McGogg illustrator Rachel Berman has once again brought Tim's fantasy woodland creatures to vibrant life in charming watercolors certain to bring laughter and even a few tears to children and their parents.

Miss Mousie's Blind Date can be pre-ordered right now on Amazon.com.

Bradley McGogg on "The Marilyn Denis Show"

Heather Feldstein, founder of WordsByMom.com - a wonderful website showcasing children's books -- recently visited "The Marilyn Denis Show" on Toronto's CTV, for a discussion focusing on "The Best Children's Books You've Never Heard Of." Heather told Marilyn about a variety of wonderful books on a variety of themes -- friendship & relationships, individuality & being different, and imagination & creativity. For information about a wide range of children's books, visit www.WordsByMom.com

(Video description courtesy of YouTube.)

Book Review: Words By Mom

Here's a wonderful review of Bradley McGogg, the Very Fine Frog from WordsByMom.com :

I love, love, love this book and so do my kids! A rhyming picture book that’s written so beautifully, that it appeals to everyone. My kids love the rhymes and I love the rich vocabulary of the text. The story is about a frog named Bradley, who is out of food and quite hungry. He goes around to different neighbours, asking for food. They are all very generous, but the other animals don’t exactly have the same pallet as a frog.

Bradley quickly learns that everyone’s tastes are different. This story teaches kids to appreciate others’ personal tastes and opinions, and that not everyone likes the same thing. I recommend this book to everyone! The message is subtle and you can generate so much discussion from this book. This is truly a picture book like no other. It reads like a classic and looks like a classic. In my opinion, this book certainly has the makings of a true classic! A must read book to treasure!