Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse and Mary

I can't say enough about this book or the illustrator Barbara McClintock. She is an incredible illustrator and I think I own every book she has illustrated and/or written. It is a charming story, but the illustrations really bring it to life. Definitely one to purchase!

Mary and the Mouse, The Mouse and Mary is our new favorite book. My kids just adore it. We love how Mary and the Mouse, who live in the same house, meet and become secret friends. (My daughter especially likes how they have decorated their rooms as teenager and teen mouse.) But most of all we love how their daughters, Maria and Mouse Mouse become friends too. It makes us smile every time we read it, and lately we've been smiling a lot.

Beverly Donofrio and Barbara McClintock's MARY AND THE MOUSE, THE MOUSE AND MARY will reach ages 3-7 with its fine story of Mary, a Mouse, and how they grow up in the same house. Mary's own daughter is destined to grow up in the house with Mouse Mouse - but will mouse and girl ever meet? Their very different worlds one day blend in this fun story of a girl and a mouse.

This one's a real stunner. The story, about the lifelong friendship between a little girl and a little mouse, is totally cute, but it's the incredible artwork from Barbara McClintock that makes this one a must-read, must-have children's book. The level of detail and draftsmanship that she brings to her work is always impressive, and this is perhaps her best work to date. Looking at this book is a rich artistic experience, and will open your child's eyes to a world of beauty and aesthetics that may stay with them throughout their entire life. Really, she's that good. If you haven't seen McClintock's work yet, this book is a great place to start, with many other great books to find after that. Highly recommended. (ReadThatAgain)

Eventually I'm going to turn violent. I can see that now. For years I've been able to keep my feelings for Barbara McClintock pent up inside. I've bided my time. When her name is mentioned in my proximity I hardly so much as blink. Yet knowing myself as I do, if Ms. McClintock doesn't garner herself some pretty HUGE illustration awards in the next year or so I AM GOING TO BURST!!! I will be seen chasing frightened parents around my children's room screaming garbled sentences. I will crouch like a savage beast in the nooks and crannies of the library then SPRING onto my unwary prey, forcing them to check out as many McClintock books as their arms can reasonably or unreasonably hold. Do you see my problem? And adding additional heartache to it all, she keeps churning out magnificent books. ARG! Just when I thought I could get over the heartbreak of not seeing Adele & Simon win a Caldecott (tears were shed, my friends) here she is putting her pen to paper alongside author Beverly Donofrio so as to create the utterly charming, "Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse and Mary." It's enough to break my heart. At the very least I'm going to try to convince YOU to buy this book. Two lives run parallel to one another within a single home. Upstairs there is Mary who lives with her mother, father, sister, and brother. Within the walls of the house there is also a mouse that lives with her very own mother, father, sister, and brother. As we watch, both Mary and the mouse go to school, learn the same things, and one night they both drop some cutlery while cleaning up after dinner. This tiny event means that through a mouse hole Mary sees the mouse and the mouse sees Mary. They'd love to talk but Mary has been warned off of mice, and the mouse has been warned off of humans. Still that doesn't stop them from dropping cutlery each night and waving to one another. Time goes on and the mouse and Mary grow up. Mary has a daughter named Maria and the mouse has a daughter called, simply, Mouse Mouse. They happen to live in the same house, and one night Maria drops her books when Mouse Mouse does the same. The difference? After a little time both Maria and Mouse Mouse become brave and meet one another so that they can whisper a loud and happy, "Goodnight!" before going to bed First of all, Ms. McClintock doesn't really have an equivalent. Oh sure, I've heard the comparisons to Kate Greenfield but let me let you in on a little secret here. Greenfield? She was fine, but McClintock is better. I'm sorry! I know that that would be considered heresy in certain parts of the country and that I'd be pelted with large chunks of rotten fruit if I were to declare it too loudly, but I seriously believe that Ms. McClintock is the better illustrator. Consider the evidence before your very eyes. First of all, praise be to Schwartz and Wade for knowing enough to pair McClintock and Donofrio together on this story. Since the artist normally works in a worl