The Bookstore Mouse

When I picked up this book to do as a novel study for my sixth-graders, I will admit I was a little skeptical. My middle schoolers aren't exactly well-versed in any literature at all, much less well-read enough to enjoy a tale about reading. They also glanced at the title and expressed some bemusement at why I would pick a book about a *bookstore* of all places. However, I was determined. I am on a campaign at my school to prove that novel studies will beat the daylights out of any "reading" curriculum. (Thanks to The Read-Aloud Handbook: Sixth Edition (Read-Aloud Handbook), I'm getting on all of my superiors' nerves. However, my students' improvement is validating the research....) At any rate, they were willing to listen to a story if it meant they didn't have to do work, even if it wasn't a story that didn't immediately appeal to them. By the end of the first few chapters, though, we were all hooked. The story is endearing--it's about a mouse that survives on words. The words become a metaphor for their meanings, and before long this mouse, Cervantes, is caught up in a book about a scribe who has to save a village from a dragon. This dragon is appropriately named Censor, and as the story progresses, the layers get deeper. The more I contemplate this book, the more impressed I am. Christian does it all: her plot is inventive, and Sigfried the Scribe and Cervantes the Mouse are easy to like. What amazed me, however, was to see the jump in my students' comprehension level and reading comfort level after reading this book. Christian uses Cervantes to illustrate the process of reading. For many of us, it's ingrained. However, for a whole generation of media-dependent Americans, reading is painful and not automatic. No one has demonstrated to a lot of children how to read! Somehow, Christian made illustrating the reading process part of the overall story. It's not forced. It makes sense. And this is far better than any context clues lesson I've ever done. The author demonstrates how to read, as well as the importance of reading, through a very entertaining, easy-to-encounter plot line. By the time we finished the book, the kids were wild about it. And just as importantly, many of my reluctant readers are now confident readers. I've seen a huge difference in their independent reading. Quite frankly, I'm rather amazed by how much this book has helped our reading process. I don't want to emphasize the educational aspect to the detriment of the story itself though. I adore the way Sigfried slays the dragon. It is inventive, surprising, meaningful, and makes total sense. I'll be keeping this gem on my bookshelf and recommending it to everybody--parents, teachers and librarians. It's a shame this isn't on the kids' classics lists, but I'm sure time will rectify that. Word just needs to get out about how good this quick read really is. Highly recommended.

I would recommend this book for anyone who has a pet mouse,rat,hamster,guinea pig,or other small furry pet. Also, it makes a good read for adventure lovers. The Bookstore Mouse is an adventure story featuring Sigifried the scribe, Milo the cat,and of course,the adorable bookstore mouse. In the story, the bookstore mouse magically jumps into a book and helps a scribe named Sigifried defeat a dragon who has kidnapped some troubadours. You'll be entertained when the dragon uses exquisite words to try to scare away Sigifried. I especially enjoyed the adorable illustrations of The Bookstore Mouse and the action including the duel between Sigifried and the dragon! (Reviewed by Michael, age 9)

I thought it was inventive because the mouse lives on books. He eats words out of books and he protects himself from the sleeping but dangerous cat by using sharp words but in the end he can't protect himself because the cat can't read. It's fun because of the adveture the mouse has with the young scribe. The ending was fun too.

When I first picked up The Bookstore Mouse I was thinking "gee, another new library book, maybe this will provide about an hour of reading," but when I opened the book at home I got more than I had bargained for. I became entoiled in the affairs of a mouse and a wanna be knight. The way the book was written was original, the mouse knowing that he was reading and the knight and the way they use this advantage of information to help themselves throughout the adventure he was having. I really enjoyed this book. By A.M2