Years ago, shortly after my wife and I purchased our first house, we discovered we had a mouse. I remember setting out a mousetrap and then really not wanting to deal with the results when it worked. Of course, I’ve heard that glue traps are even worse. As for those “humane” traps? I think this quote from the young adult book ChaseR by Michael Rosen sums it up best:
Everyone in the country has mice, and they’re everywhere, and there’s no trapping in those little humane traps we used to set so you can drive the mice somewhere in the country to be free. WE’RE THE PLACE YOU DRIVE THEM TO!
Eeeek, Mouse! is a new picture book just released today by Lydia Monks, the author of Aaaarrgghh, Spider! My six-year-old says:
This book is about a girl named Minnie. Her mother and father don’t like mice. One time a mouse snuck up and got in the house. Minnie saved it and hid it from her father who was trying to build a trap to catch the mouse. It’s a funny book, especially the cat.
When Minnie’s dad sets to building a super-dooper mouse trap, Minnie puts her own plan in motion to rescue the mouse. Meanwhile, the family cat is hoping to get a bit of a treat, and is easily the funniest part of the book. The illustrations are cute, with a couple die-cut mouse holes to peek through. However, I’m honestly not sure what to make of the message of the book. Monk’s previous book was about a spider (which appears in Eeeek, Mouse!) and the books seem to be encouraging kids to love pests. I had a hard time explaining to my own daughter why it wouldn’t be a good idea to let a mouse run free around the house. (The dad’s complaint, that they give him the heebie-jeebies, isn’t very convincing to a six-year-old who doesn’t know what that means.)
In short, it’s a cute picture book with some humor and clever illustrations, but you might want to consider the ramifications before you read it to your kids. Especially if you have mice problems of your own.
Eeeek, Mouse!
Wired: Cute drawings and a very funny cat. The dad is a bit of a geek.
Tired: May teach your kids the wrong lessons about mice.
Note: GeekDad received a copy of the book for review.
