Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk

From the Publisher

A small creature offers his big voice for aspiring authors everywhere

Every child can be a writer-and Library Mouse shows them how!

Beloved children's books author and illustrator Daniel Kirk wonderfully brings to life the story of Sam, a library mouse. Sam's home was in a little hole in the wall in the children's reference books section, and he thought that life was very good indeed. For Sam loved to read. He read picture books and chapter books, biographies and poetry, and ghost stories and mysteries. Sam read so much that finally one day he decided to write books himself!

Sam shared his books with other library visitors by placing them on a bookshelf at night. Until there came the time that people wanted to meet this talented author. Whatever was Sam to do?

The joy of reading, writing, and sharing is brought to life in this warmhearted tale.

Children's Literature

Sam, a library mouse, lives in a hole behind the children's reference books. This charming fellow, who dresses in shirt and pants and sleeps in pajamas, really enjoys his life there, sleeping during the busy days and relishing every kind of book at night. After filling his mind with both facts and imaginary wonders, he decides to write his own book. He works hard to finish Squeak! A Mouse's Life; then he places it on the shelf, in the Biography section of course. His next opus, The Lonely Cheese, goes with the picture books. The children and librarians notice his books and begin to read them. They wonder who the mysterious author is and decide to invite him for Author Day. Instead, too shy to appear himself, Sam inspires his fans to write a book of their own. Our hero is introduced on the front cover, sword in hand, standing atop a cat's face on a book, his foot on a pencil. The back and title page have him kneeling between books, hushing finger to mouth. Naturalistic vignettes and full-page scenes show Sam at work or imagining, as well as an active library. The titles of the books around him add to the fun.

Kirkus Reviews

Mouse becomes muse. Late at night when the library is closed, Sam the mouse, an enthusiastic reader and writer, sneaks out of his comfy hole to take advantage of the library's resources, leaving the books he writes behind. One morning, Sam works all night and falls asleep at a table, waking up just in time to avoid an elementary-school writing club. In his haste to escape, however, he leaves behind his notebook. Young Tom discovers it and takes it to the librarian, who suggests he leave it for Sam to find later. Tom has another idea, deciding to find Sam. He leaves cheese and a story he's written called "The Shy One" by Sam's mousehole. In no time flat, the duo is collaborating, with Sam doing the illustrations. And Tom's text gives Sam an idea for another book. Kirk's substantial text suits early grades. While his illustrations hold little artistic nuance, they do incorporate well-known titles by other author-illustrator duos, and children will enjoy spotting such favorites as Goodnight Moon and Miss Nelson Is Back. In all, a solid nudge to budding writers. (Picture book. 6-9)

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