“LOVE, MOUSERELLA,” by David Ezra Stein, Nancy Paulsen Books, September 15, 2011, $15.99 (ages 3 and up)
After a summer visit, Mouserella’s Grandmouse has headed back to her own house in the country, and Mouserella misses her. When her mother suggests writing a letter, Mouserella gets to work. “Love, Mouserella,” is written and illustrated to be this letter to Grandmouse, complete with a cover that looks like an envelope and several pages of child-written words and illustrations for Grandmouse.
At first, Mouserella is sure that nothing interesting has happened since Grandmouse left. With doodles on a few pages, and some photographs she’s taken using the camera Grandmouse gave her as a gift, Mouserella begins telling the story of her week. Soon enough, the reader is introduced to Mouserella’s world; a world where cats live at the zoo, the museum showcases large pre-historic mice, and butterflies almost as large as Mouserella herself can be grown inside jars in your room. Mouserella herself is fun-loving and full of characteristics every child can relate to in some way. She doesn’t always love her brother, she likes to make art projects, and she is already looking forward to her next visit with Grandmouse.
A perfect illustration of the love grandchildren have for their grandparents, “Love, Mouserella,” would be a great gift for the faraway grandparent to send to their little loved one. But beyond that, it is an engaging picture book that accurately mirrors the thought-processes and letter-writing skills of any young child. Used as a reminder of love, inspiration for your own art projects and letters, or just as a great story to share, “Love, Mouserella,” is a great book for the young reader to enjoy.
