Goodbye, Mousie - Softcover

Robie H. Harris

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0743462130 ISBN 13: 9780743462136

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Childrens, 2003

Synopsis

A small boy comes to terms with his pet's death. When a small boy is told that his pet mouse has died, he can't at first believe it. But gradually, with the help of his family, he comes to terms with his pet's death. Beautifully told by award-winning author, Robie H. Harris, and gently illustrated by world-renowned artist, Jan Ormerod, Goodbye, Mousie is a perfect book to help children cope with loss.

About this title

About the Author

Robie Harris began her career as a teacher and has written many books for children, including 'I Am Not Going to School Today'. She lives in Cambridge, Massaachusetts in the US. Jan Ormerod has illustrated numerous award-winning picture books. Born in Australia, she now lives in Cambridge, England, with her family.

From Publishers Weekly

Harris (It's Perfectly Normal) and Ormerod (Miss Mouse Takes Off) admirably and successfully tackle a child's first encounter with death, through the loss of a beloved pet. "When I woke up this morning, I tickled Mousie's tummy. But Mousie didn't wake up," says the unnamed narrator, a preschool-age boy. Author and artist both possess an acute sense of the boy's emotional trajectory. After his first outpouring of grief and anger (which Ormerod depicts in a stunning facial close-up), the boy focuses on preparations for Mousie's funeral, busily filling the coffin with mementos and then decorating it with "wiggly stripes." But his composure crumbles when he discovers a piece of toast missing from his plate: "Where did it go? Did it die too?" Acceptance finally comes after he and his parents bury Mousie, and it is authentically childlike: "So, maybe someday, I'll get another mouse," the boy says, stretched across the floor and contemplatively dawdling with Mousie's exercise wheel. "But not just yet." The artist's fluid pencil lines underscore the vulnerability of the boy and the poignancy of his story. Uplifting details (the boy's mouse slippers, a stuffed mouse toy) offer a glimmer of hope, and the solidity at the heart of her characterizations especially in the portraits of the narrator seeking comfort from his parents will be immensely reassuring to young readers. Ages 4-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon and Schuster Childrens
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0743462130
• ISBN 13: 9780743462136
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32