A Day With Mousse by Claire Lebourg

A DAY WITH MOUSSE

by Claire Lebourg

Translated by Sophie Lewis

Transit Children's Editions

Children's Fiction  /  Early Readers

88 pages

ages 4 to 10

COMING...

OCTOBER 8th!!!

In a new series for early readers, Mousse receives an unexpected visit—and forms an unlikely friendship.

Mousse loves his solitary life by the sea. In the mornings, he strolls on the beach to take in the fresh air. He swims in the cool water. And he waits for the tide to bring him the day’s small treasures. Today, however, a visitor comes ashore in his living room, a truly unexpected visitor. A creature named Barnacle . . .

In this delightfully illustrated picture book for early readers, Claire Lebourg depicts the unexpected pleasures in helping others and finding friendship in unexpected places.

GOODREADS

MY TIDBITS

The magic of going beyond the comfort zone to help someone else comes across in a heart-warming tale.

Mousse loves his life along the beach. He watches the waves, collects shells and such to sell, and can do what he wants all day long. One day, someone is sitting in his favorite chair and Mr. Barnacle refuses to leave, which means Mousse has to throw him out...which works great until Barnacle returns and needs help.

Mousse is a bit unique but soon grows on the heart, and by the end, he's a mouse a reader will wish they knew themselves. His life on the beach is peaceful and clam, but the author tosses in enough curious details into the illustrations to catch and hold curiosity. Soon, life on the beach seems wonderful, and exactly at this moment, the first problem sets in. Readers will easily understand Mousse's frustration, even if his actions seem a bit harsh. It's this sharp edge of conflict, which draws in and keeps those pages turning to figure out how everything will work out. There's a message, but it doesn't overwhelm the plot and allows the story to unfold in an engaging way.

This is great for those readers, who are mostly sure of their words but don't want to dive into thickish books constantly. The text is kept relatively short, allowing the illustrations to hold as much of the tale as the words. It creates a read, which isn't overwhelming to new readers, while offering a wonderful tale full of warmth and unexpected friendship.