Upon first glance at this story, I was so taken away by the illustrations - they are so clean and smooth, it just felt good to look at. The anticipation build up of the shadow images of cats wanting to play with the fish, too - I can only imagine the inferring discussions I could be having with my students. The mouse leading the cats with his trickery, so clever. In the classroom I would be using this moment to come up with some figurative language to describe what the mouse is up to - then by using all of the adjectives the story used, students can come up with their own examples as well. The ending was not at all how I expected the story to take a turn. Loved it. Beautifully done.
A goldfish and a mouse become fast friends as they play in and around the goldfish's bowl.
But when three cats crash the party and terrify the poor goldfish, the brave little mouse gets an idea. She leads the three black cats on a wild and epic chase up and down and over and around until they find themselves surrounded by absolutely irresistible food in the pantry. The cats gorge themselves so much that they fall into a deep sleep, but the mouse knows they won't sleep forever. So the brave little mouse gets another idea to keep the goldfish out of harm's way for good!
This is a heartwarming story with a simple text and gorgeous illustrations about the lengths one brave mouse will go to in order to save her friend. Perfect as gifts and for the classrooms, this book is packed with an inspiring message—it is not always easy standing up for someone; but with tenacity and quick thinking, even a mouse, the smallest of creatures, can defeat a much larger enemy.
Nicolò Carozzi is an up-and-coming author-illustrator to watch. His lyrical and cinematic art style is new, yet familiar. While he started illustrating in 2013, BRAVE AS A MOUSE is his debut picture book in the US. Pairing Nicolò’s rich and beautiful illustrations with a time-honored tale of cat and mouse, this story has the makings of an instant classic.
Nicolò Carozzi is a Veronese architect, teacher, and illustrator. He was awarded first prize for the EurHope illustration competition in 2013 and has been a shortlisted illustrator for three Folio Society competitions. He made his illustration debut with the Italian picture book The Magic Lamp of Aladdin by Davide Calì. See more of his work at nicolocarozzi.com
cant wait to read with the kids
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