Mouse in a Meadow
Kindergarten-Grade 2–In this straightforward story, told in simple declarative statements, readers learn about the flora and fauna that live in a meadow, starting with a mouse. The unsuspecting rodent, while eating a nutlet, starts a chain of events that ultimately leads readers back to him. He sends a leafhopper into a patch of grass with a snake that startles a moth. Various predators, some of whom are successful in finding something to eat, appear and move on until a hungry weasel materializes; as it turns out, it has been watching the mouse the entire time. The illustrations transcend the boxed-in area designed for the pictures and give the impression that they are popping out of the page. The moth leaves the picture and flies off to the side of the page. Then it's on to the next page where it gets caught in the spider's web. Once readers come full circle back to the mouse, they have been introduced to mammals, insects, a spider, an amphibian, a reptile, birds, and plants. Not an essential purchase but an informative and realistic look at a dynamic ecosystem.–Bethany L. W. Hankinson, Miller Elementary School, Newark, OHCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.