Perfect Soup

Moser, Lisa

ISBN 10: 0375960147 ISBN 13: 9780375960147

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2010

Synopsis

Murray the mouse likes everything to be perfect. Naturally, his perfect meal on a perfect winter day is Perfect Soup. But Murray doesn’t have a carrot, and Perfect Soup isn’t perfect without a carrot. With the snow falling around him, Murray ventures out of his little house to track down the final ingredient for his Perfect Soup. And there’s no time for playing around—Murray is in a hurry.

The farmer will be happy to provide a carrot if Murray will haul some logs. The horse will gladly haul the logs for Murray if he’ll give him some fancy jingle bells in return. It looks like Murray just might get his carrot, but it only takes one grumpy person for a delicate chain of favors like this to fall apart. Can a friendly snowman help Murray make the soup perfect anyway?

Author Lisa Moser and illustrator Ben Mantle have filled Murray’s little town with richly colorful winter landscapes, wonderfully detailed cozy homes, a hilarious cast of quirky characters, and the absolute cutest talking snowman you have ever seen. Parents and kids alike won’t be able to resist picking this book up again and again.

About this title

About the Author

Over the years, Lisa Moser has made countless snowmen and several books for children. She lives with her husband and daughter in Wisconsin, where they all enjoy soup—not perfect, by any means, but warm and lovely just the same. Lisa says, ”I hope Perfect Soup inspires new friendships and rekindles old ones.”

Ben Mantle was born in Leamington Spa, England, and developed a very early interest in all things artistic and festive, even coming in first in his local library’s coloring competition. From there he went on to study animation at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design. He then joined the crew of Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride and now works as an illustrator and animator from his seaside base in Brighton. Ben is still perennially excited about the holidays and wishes it would snow every day of the year.

From School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2–Between the carrot-covered endpapers, Murray, a bit of a perfectionist, is getting ready to make soup. When the mouse discovers he is out of carrots, he bundles up and runs through the snow to ask the farmer for the missing veggie. Farmer agrees if, in return, Murray hauls some logs. So begins a frantic chase as the mouse goes from Horse to Shopkeeper to Miller's Boy to a knitting neighbor as each agrees to help in some way in return for something else. As Murray frantically goes from place to place, he runs by a snowman (sharp-eyed readers will notice the missing nose) who keeps inviting him to play. But “Murray was in a hurry” and too busy to respond. Finally, frustrated in his carrot quest, the despondent mouse gets a scoop of snow from the snowman to cool the knitter's hot drink–and nothing is asked in return. This results in each neighbor giving the mouse what he wants until he receives a carrot that doesn't end up in the soup but as a gift to his new friend. The rhythmic text is coupled with snow-filled scenes from varying perspectives full of delightful details: the knitter's house is shaped like a tea cozy, Murray's stocking cap reflects his mood, the shopkeeper's eyebrows are curly. Libraries looking for books on friendship and perseverance with a dash of snow and soup mixed in will want to consider this title.–Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WIα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0375960147
• ISBN 13: 9780375960147
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Mantle Ben