Babymouse

"Babymouse: Our Hero" by Jennifer and Matthew Holm is about a young mouse named Babymouse who is afraid of facing the mean and excellent dodgeball playing cat, Felicia, in gym class. Babymouse has always been able to get out of dodgeball, but this year there is no escape. Her best friend, Wilson, a weasel, helps her practice, but she doesn't get any better and the day of the game she is still scared. However, when Wilson needs her help, Babymouse faces her fears and becomes a hero.

Hilarious. Clever. Imaginative. Endearing. How else can I praise this book? Tween girls would eat these up, and several of the boys as well. I love the black and white illustrations with pink as the one and only splash of color. Very fitting for Babymouse. The narrative bubbles are really, really funny. I loved how they are almost another character in the book. Babymouse's dialogue and quirks are also memorable and, you guessed it, really funny. I laughed out loud throughout the book. Also, the Babymouse character just seemed so genuine. Her plights are all very relatable--the desire to sleep in, missing the bus, forgetting your gym shoes, having an enemy, feeling dumb in class, wishing you could be somewhere else, avoiding chores--all kids experience these things. Babymouse makes those daily struggles and desires a little more conquerable, and a lot more funny. Two thumbs up, particularly for their target audience of tween girls.