BOOK REVIEW: Booklist

Miss Mousie's Blind Date

Love is in the air one spring day at the local deli when Miss Mousie notices a guy that makes her weak in the knees. Matt LaBatt, the water rat, / was such a handsome fellow! / His fur was black. His eyes were red. / His teeth were lemon yellow. Miss Mousie attempts flirting until Matt calls her fat. The despondent rodent hides away until she receives an invitation for a mystery date.

Trying to avoid more rejection, she decides to go in disguise, but after trudging through thistles, brambles, and rain, she arrives disheveled instead. Her appearance goes unnoticed by her mystery man, the tubby deli-owner mole, who, also putting vanity first, has not worn his spectacles. Over coffee and souffle, the pair agrees to be true to themselves.

The text surrounds delicate watercolor and gouache paintings reminiscent of Beatrix Potter, which add plenty of charm to this winsome rhyming tale. Pair with Carmen Agra Deedy's Martina the Beautiful Cockroach (2007) for another lesson in true love from wise animals.

--Leeper, Angela Copyright 2010 Booklist

BOOK REVIEW: Through the Looking Glass

Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews

Miss Mousie's Blind Date

Tim Beiser
Illustrator:  Rachel Berman
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Tundra Books, 2012   ISBN: 978-1770492516

Every spring plants leaf out and bloom and the little woodland animals “go cuckoo for romance.”
One spring day Miss Mousie sees a fellow in the deli “who turned her knees to jelly.” He is Matt LaBatt, a very handsome water rat. Not knowing how to catch the water rat’s eye, Miss Mousie decides to try an old-fashioned move and she drops a hankie on the floor. Instead of responding by gallantly returning the hankie, the water rat makes a very rude remark that hurts poor Miss Mousie’s feelings very much. He says that she is “fat.” Devastated by this unkind remark, Miss Mousie rushes home, and she stays there because she is “Ashamed to go outside and hear what other folks might say.”
   Then one morning Miss Mousie gets an invitation from a “mystery date” who wants Miss Mousie to have dinner with him that very evening. Miss Mousie, in a tizzy, searches her house for an outfit that will disguise the fact that she rather plump. She is convinced that if her date sees her undisguised he will “flee.”
   Written in verse and accompanied by cunning and detailed illustrations, this picture book shows children that it is always wise to be yourself. With plenty of gentle humor throughout, the story demonstrates beautifully how badly things can go wrong if you try to be someone you are not.

Review Written by Marya Jansen-Gruber

Read the original review at: http://lookingglassreview.com/books/miss-mousies-blind-date