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CM . . . . Volume XXIII Number 37 . . . . June 2, 2017
excerpt:
This time the hard-working Mr. Postmouse from Mr. Postmouse's Rounds is taking a vacation with his family – Mrs. Mouse and their children, Pip, Milo and Lulu. Readers see Mr. Postmouse tugging along the familiar wagon piled high with letters and parcels, however, because "a postmouse's rounds are never done!" As with the previous title, the large double-spread illustrations, in the vein of Richard Scarry's works, are filled with funny details of the different homes of creatures and the type of mail they might receive: a clam for a seagull, a book for Tarzan and a soft pillow for Mrs. Winks the Sloth. The packages on the wagon are accurately depicted from the first page and the numbers decrease according to their deliveries. There are fairytale and movie references, such as King Kong or Hansel and Gretel, and also references to the previous work in a "Wanted" poster for the thieving magpie. A few fun-loving friends and wayward belongings keep popping up at every destination the family visits and invite questions, such as, "Are those the same butterflies we saw in the forest?" or "How did that crab get on that building's roof?" This time the family members help out with deliveries and take the time to stop and chat with friends along the way, collecting souvenirs that are displayed on the final spread for readers to puzzle over. Is Milo singing a song he learned on the cruise ship? Pip must have learned juggling from the other Mr. Bear in the city! A small point worthy of note: Lulu is dressed the same way as her brothers and is not singled out by hair ribbons, a dress, long eyelashes or an adherence to typically feminine activities. I believe that the sentences might be just slightly longer and the overall amount of text has also increased a tiny bit compared to the first work (now two or three sentences per double spread), but that should not significantly impact the reading level of this work, especially for fans of the first title. Best enjoyed as part of an intimate shared reading experience, the book is largish but the sheer amount of detail in the illustrations means that for a library or classroom shared reading, the number of readers would have to be quite small for everyone to have the opportunity to notice and point things out. Highly Recommended. Saeyong Kim has an MA in Children's Literature and an MLIS; she lives in British Columbia where she works as an auxiliary librarian. Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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