A Brand-New Day with Mouse and Mole (A Mouse and Mole Story)
Grade 1–2—Mole is having a bad day—all of his clothes have embarrassing moth holes. He and Mouse decide to go shopping, first stopping for a quick lunch. Beginning readers will be amused and disgusted by Mole's favorite meal, a big serving of lightly fried worms. Finding new duds is challenging because Mole really prefers his old comfortable clothes. Then he finds a shirt he likes and fixes its missing buttons by sewing on acorn caps for a creative solution. In other stories, the two friends go fishing and make a surprising catch, and Mouse surprises Mole with her fix for his moth-eaten garments. With more challenging vocabulary than Arnold Lobel's "Frog and Toad" series (HarperCollins), this third book about these two pals is best suited for newly independent readers who are ready to tackle words like "double," "squeaked," and "shooed." But words like "abracadabra" and "cashier" may cause them to stumble. The stories are light, with simple plots, and the lively and expressive watercolor illustrations add energy and detail. A worthwhile addition to easy-reader collections.—Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, MECopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.