Gingerbread Mouse: A Christmas Holiday Book for Kids

by Katy Bratun, Katy Bratun (Illustrator)

Overview

A heartwarming Christmas story about a place to call home

On a snowy winter's night, Mouse is snug in her bed. Then…crack! A tree branch falls and destroys her house!

It’s up to Mouse to find a new place to live in time for her to enjoy the season. With determination, resourcefulness, and a good amount of Christmas wonder, Mouse finds not only another house but also a place she can truly call home.

Katy Bratun’s detailed and vivacious illustrations capture the warm yet festive innerworkings of Mouse’s possible homes. Little ones will want to snuggle up with this story over and over again throughout the holiday season.

Includes a delicious recipe for gingerbread cookies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060090821
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/09/2007
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	362,706
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.12(d)
Lexile:	AD590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Katy Bratun studied illustration at the Art Institute of Boston and has illustrated twenty books for children. She once drew a gorilla in a gondola at a school assembly, which later posed as a character for this book. Ms. Bratun lives in Salem, Massachusetts, with her husband, Steve, and her son, Eric.

Katy Bratun studied illustration at the Art Institute of Boston and has illustrated twenty books for children. She once drew a gorilla in a gondola at a school assembly, which later posed as a character for this book. Ms. Bratun lives in Salem, Massachusetts, with her husband, Steve, and her son, Eric.

Editorial Reviews

When a branch crashes into Mouse's home, she must search for new digs. Peeking through the window of a human's abode, she spies the perfect replacement: a gingerbread house. Half the fun of Bratun's (Jack and the Leprechaun) book is looking at the furnishings Mouse rigs up out of matchboxes, bottle caps, candy and the like. The clever, mouse-size bric-a-brac and cute, costumed mouse recall Cyndy Szekeres's settings-except for the addition of a few less convincingly rendered humans. Kids who like dolls and miniatures will savor this cheery offering, especially when Santa arrives and bestows upon the heroine a more permanent home, in the form of a handsome Victorian dollhouse. Ages 6-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 1-When her home is destroyed by a falling branch, Mouse moves into a human house and discovers a gingerbread house that's just her size. Later that night, Santa arrives with a dollhouse, which becomes Mouse's permanent residence. The characters have stiff-looking grins showing pasty teeth, and the pedestrian text is filled with cliches.-S. P. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

What kind of house would be best for a mouse? This well-equipped rodent has a complete wardrobe, furniture, and even her own sled and backpack. Bratun's detailed paintings introduce a cute mouse character whose cozy home in a tree is ruined by a falling branch. She decamps to a nearby home and takes up residence in their gingerbread house, making new furnishings out of household materials. On Christmas Eve, Santa provides her with an even better home in a furnished dollhouse, and the little girl of the house leaves her a gingerbread mouse cookie as a present on Christmas morning. Little girls who like miniatures and dollhouses will enjoy this simple story, with three different houses full of tiny details. Includes a recipe for gingerbread cookies. (Picture book. 5-7)

Kirkus Reviews