Book Review – BABYMOUSE – QUEEN OF THE WORLD!
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Holm, Jennifer and Matthew Holm. 2005. BABYMOUSE – QUEEN OF THE WORLD! New York, NY: Random House. ISBN 0-375-93229-1
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Babymouse is an imaginative young mouse with perpetually curly whiskers that dreams of being queen of the world. She longs to get an invitation to the popular Felicia Furrypaws’ upcoming slumber party and would do anything to get one. So Babymouse consents to give Felicia a book report she has written in exchange for a coveted invitation. Unfortunately, she forgets that she had already promised to go over to her friend Wilson the Weasel‘s house to watch a monster movie! Babymouse goes to the slumber party anyway with high expectations of a wonderful evening, only to have her hopes dashed by a boring evening full of disappointment. Felicia turns out to be a mean, shallow cat that isn’t worth her time. She leaves the party and goes to watch a movie with her true buddy, Wilson. Babymouse realizes that she is lucky to have such a good friend and that she is already queen of the world!
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This first graphic novel in the long running Babymouse series offers an important lesson to its young readers about what true friendship is all about. Written by a brother/sister team, the writing is very clever with several themes like peer pressure, acceptance, and friends that students will easily identify with. The drawings are simple, yet capture the emotions of the characters quite effectively. One nice effect is how the drawings feature plenty of pink when Babymouse is using her imagination, and revert to black and white when she is back to the real world. These imaginative portions can inspire creativity and do a good job of conveying the emotion of our hero. Reluctant readers might be especially attracted to this fast-paced initial entry to the series, and girls may find an entry point into the world of graphic novels here. Children in late elementary or middle school may find a positive role model in this smart, imaginative, and independent young mouse that loves to read.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Reviewed in BOOKLIST: “The Holms spruce up some well-trod ground with breathless pacing and clever flights of Babymouse's imagination, and their manic, pink-toned illustrations of Babymouse and her cohorts vigorously reflect the internal life of any million-ideas-a-minute middle-school student.”
Reviewed in CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: “The graphic novel format has arrived in the elementary school with a charming anthropomorphic heroine with whom female readers in particular can identify. The visual narrative is presented in a variety of frames and vignettes, with most of the text in speech balloons, as is standard in comic strips. There is a driving energy to the drawings, along with animation, dramatic adventures, and lots of fun.”
5. CONNECTIONS
Jennifer Holm is the Newberry Winning Author of these books:
Holm, Jennifer. OUR ONLY MAY AMELIA. ISBN 978-0613359955
Holm, Jennifer. TURTLE IN PARADISE. ISBN 978-0375836886
A full listing of the Babymouse series, complete with plot summaries, can be found on Jennifer Holm’s site HERE.
More Babymouse adventures:
Holm, Jennifer and Matthew Holm. BABYMOUSE #2: OUR HERO. ISBN 978-0375832307
Holm, Jennifer and Matthew Holm. BABYMOUSE #3: BEACH BABE. ISBN 978-0375832314
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