Babymouse #1: Queen of the World! (Babymouse series)
Babymouse #1: Queen of the World!
Jennifer L. Holm; Matthew Holm (Illustrator)
Babymouse: Queen of the World.
Babymouse connives to gets herself invited to a sleepover at the house of her arch nemesis, a popular cat named Felicia Furrypaws, but ultimately realizes she far prefers to hang out with her faithful friend, Wilson Weasel.
So far, there are nine un-put-down-able graphic novelettes in this hilarious series all about the daydreaming title heroine, Babymouse, a Walter Mitty-like everymouse with a little pink heart adorning every outfit. Written and illustrated by the talented team of Jennifer L. Holm, author of two Newbery Honor novels for older readers, Our Only May Amelia and Penny from Heaven, and her brother, Matthew, a graphic designer, each book taps into and channels familiar aspects of middle school angst. Drawn with heavy black lines and hand-drawn panels on white paper, with hot pink highlights, the comic book style illustrations are refreshingly original, as are Babymouse's vivid reveries in response to the frustrations of her day, and her repartee with the cheeky, unseen, advice dispensing narrator. Readers will adopt Babymouse's favorite retort for their own exasperations: "Typical!"
OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES:
Babymouse: Our Hero. Holm, Jennifer L., and Matthew Holm. Illus. by Matthew Holm. Random House, 2005. (95 pages, SUGGESTED AGES 7-10)
ISBN-13: 978-0375932304
After she oversleeps and misses the school bus, the plucky mouse confronts a homework-eating locker, the agony of fractions, and flare-ups with the catty Felicia Furrypaws. She must go up against Felicia in the one aspect of school that is Babymouse's undoing—phys ed and a dreaded game of dodgeball.
Themes : BALL GAMES. GRAPHIC NOVELS. MICE. POPULARITY.
CRITICS HAVE SAID
- The Holms spruce up some well-trod ground with breathless pacing and clever flights of Babymouse’s imagination, and their manic, pink-toned illustrations of Babymouse and her cohorts vigorously reflect the internal life of any million-ideas-a-minute middle-school student.
–Jesse Karp, Booklist
- Both tales share eye-grabbing black-and-pink graphics, and a perceptible Spiegelman influence simmers in the energetic ink illustrations of the dot-eyed heroine.
–Publishers Weekly - The visual narrative is presented in a variety of frames and vignettes, with most of the text in speech balloons, as is standard in comic strips. There is a driving energy to the drawings, along with animation, dramatic adventures, and lots of fun.
–Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz, Children - Young readers will happily fall in line to follow Babymouse through both ordinary pratfalls (“Typical!” is her watchword) and extraordinary flights of fancyboth of which continue in Babymouse, Our Hero.
–Kirkus Reviews
IF YOU LOVE THIS BOOK, THEN TRY:
- Morse, Scott. Magic Pickle. Graphix, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0439879958
Pilkey, Dav. The Adventures of Captain Underpants: The First Epic Novel. Scholastic, 1997. ISBN-13: 978-1407106250
Pilkey, Dav. The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby: The First Graphic Novel. Scholastic, 2002 ISBN-13: 978-0439376068
Rau, Zachary. Nightmare on Joe’s Street. Created by Jon Scieszka; adapted by Zachary Rau. HarperTrophy, 2006. (And others in the Time Warp Trio Graphic Novels series.) ISBN-13: 978-0061116391
Siegel, Siena Cherson. To Dance: A Memoir. Atheneum, 2006. ISBN-10: 0689867476
Smith, Jeff. Bone #1: Out from Boneville. Graphix/Scholastic, 2005. ISBN-13: 978-0439706407
Telgemeier, Raina. The Baby-sitter’s Club. 1, Kristy’s Great Idea: A Graphic Novel. Graphix, 2006. (And others in the series.) ISBN-13: 978-0439802413
Varon, Sara. Robot Dreams. First Second, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-1596431089
Van Draanen, Wendelin. Shredderman: Secret Identity. Knopf, 2004. ISBN-13: 9780440419129