Little Library Mouse (Hollywood Book Festival Award Winner)

Even when you are little you can imagine big, so begins this adorable book. Written in rhyme, the story begins as the clock goes tick-tock, is that the key in the lock? It is the end of the day and the library is closed. A white mouse dressed in a purple suit begins to tell of his adventures, of all the things he can be. With the help of books he can be a clown, a juggler, or a lady bug on a leaf. On the pages he flips, he finds good cheer in storybook trips. In winter he's snow spinning a silvery fable, frosted wilderness-white on the library table. He's a king, he's a queen, and upon all words he stands tall. He's red, he's yellow, and he's iridescent blue. Short stories are rainbows of sharp color and hue. He is paper, he is ink. He becomes any book he reads. He can read, he can imagine so can you, take a look If you want to stimulate your child's imagination this is the book for you. It is colorful and fun to read. Who doesn't love cute little mice, as long as they are illustrated in books? Each page is filled with fantasy and wonder.

A neighbor sent me the link to this author's website and I immediately became entranced with her style, it is unique, captivating and totally engaging - my kids (5, 6 and 8) LOVE it! I sent the web site link to all my friends - everyone adores her books, they are fun, inspirational and this mom wants to put the word out for others: With the oversaturated, overabundant children's picture book market, why not choose books with sweet, thoughtful and positive messages?! It helps us moms do our jobs better! From one mom to another - thanks Stephanie Lisa Tara!

With illustrations from Alex Walton, Little Library Mouse by Stephanie Lisa Tara is a creative and encouraging tale of an illustrious mouse who lives in a library and when the library is closed and locked at the end of the day carries his little furry mouse friends through fun and imagination driven adventures to be found in the library's many books. Enrapturing the minds of its young readers, Little Library Mouse combines a poetic text with full page works of art in presenting his adventurous endeavors throughout the night of the darkened library through pages and pictures of some very interesting books. A perfect choice for all school and community library picturebook collections, Little Library Mouse is very highly recommended for young readers and their parents seeking to instill in their children a love of reading and an appreciation of libraries.

Finding innovative and evocative ways to stimulate, inspire children - is the key to effectively teaching special education -- a colleague handed me this big beautiful purple book last week, its joyful large-type rhymes had me giggling. Then I put it to the real test and read it to my students. It is rare that I have such a huge response -- Little Library Mouse instantly became everyone's favorite. My students repeat the bouncing lines back to me, they speak openly about the book's concepts; of words, sentences, poems, stories... of books taking the imagination anywhere it wishes to go, regardless of physical handicaps. Skillfully told, beautiful illustrated, this teacher gives it a large gold star! Brilliant work from Stephanie Lisa Tara.

Reviewed by Kim Peterson for Reader Views (4/06) At the local library when the lights go dark, a little mouse slides out of his hole. He launches his evening adventures as soon as the key turns in the lock. Library mouse steps into the pages of the books and turns into the heroes and heroines in these delightful stories. He pretends to be royalty, a clown, a chef, a detective and more. No longer a tiny rodent, library mouse imagines himself as a ladybug on a leaf, a snowflake on the wind, even winter itself. Little library mouse takes young readers along on his quest to become new characters and visit new places. Children will enjoy the escapades told with rhythm and rhyme. Each stanza's antic includes an aspect of the world of books, introducing young readers to terms like sentence, glossy, page, and paragraph. Each vibrant, colorful full-page illustration depicts a book and mice involved in that story's delights. Tara's picture book should be a winner with children and parents encouraging the love of books and the use of their imaginations. After all, library mouse introduces children to the greatest adventure of all-reading.