Christmas Mouseling - Hardcover

Chaconas, Dori; Susan Kathleen Hartung

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670059846 ISBN 13: 9780670059843

Publisher: Viking Juvenile, 2005

Synopsis

When her shivering baby is born on a cold winter night, a mouse follows some animals to a special manger where she receives help from another mother, in a heartwarming Nativity story by the author of One Little Mouse.

About this title

About the Author:

Dori Chaconas was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1938. The second child in a family of seven, Dori fell into the role of storyteller, nursery rhyme singer, and general entertainer for her siblings. She claims she learned about story pacing early. If the story action lagged, her fidgety audience would either scatter or start a poking war.

She has been married to Nick, her high school sweetheart, for 44 years. Everyone says the romance will last. They raised four daughters, and are now enjoying three grandsons—especially Grandpa, having been outnumbered by women all those years.

When their daughters were young, Dori wrote for them. She published three picture books and more than fifty stories in children's magazines. In the 70's, her interest turned to yarn embroidery design and she sold designs to major needlework companies and national magazines.

In 1997, Dori started writing stories again, partly to keep her grandsons from fidgeting or starting poking wars. Her stories reflect the warmth of family life. Dori gives credit to her parents for giving her a strong sense of family, and to her children and grandchildren for keeping it alive.

From Booklist:

PreS-Gr. 2. During a December storm, in a snowy forest, a little mouse is born. Then a wind blows the nest apart, and Mother Mouse takes her shivering mouseling in search of warmth. Sheep, Dove, and Cow offer their homes; they're leaving to visit a king. But after mouse nestles into each departed nest, the wind blows it down. Finally, she finds a shelter, filled with light and her animal friends, and settles into a cozy manger. The unusual, oblique view of the traditional nativity scene (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are never named and appear only in a small silhouette) makes this a welcome addition to holiday shelves. Chaconas' text will easily draw in young listeners with its lyrical language, gentle humor ("it's a baaad time of year," says Sheep), and an infectious, rhyming refrain: "The north wind blew. The snowflakes flew. And the mouseling sneezed, "Ah-choo! Ah-choo!"^B Hartung's delicate, soft-toned illustrations, decorated with plate-sized, filigreed snowflakes, amplify the contrast between the blustery winter forest and the safety and warmth of the manger. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Juvenile
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0670059846
• ISBN 13: 9780670059843
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Hartung Susan Kathleen