Mouse's First Spring

Mouse's Firsts

by Lauren Thompson, Buket Erdogan (Illustrator)

One bright day, Mouse and Momma head outside to play.
The wind blows in something
feathery and plump --
a bird,
and something
wiggly and pink --
a worm,
and something
green, who hops and leaps --
a frog.
But before it's time to go back inside, Mouse finds something that's
soft and new with petals...
the prettiest flower he's ever seen!
Could it mean spring is finally here?

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Animals, Childrens, Nature, Fiction, Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 25, 2005

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mouse is excited to learn about everything the spring has to offer. The set up is repetitive with words. It's a cute story.

The kids were not invested in this one. The nephew liked the snail best.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Swing your toddler on your lap and snuggle up with this short and sweet book. Kids will love pointing to the pictures and the word choices make this a delightful listen!

Ages: 2 - 4

#spring

**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

This worked surprisingly well in lap time! One toddler had the best time calling out what mouse found and had all the parents laughing.3/21/12

Used at PJ with a shy toddler, who would say what mouse had found and then hide her face in her Mom's chest.

It didn't go over as well this year in lap time, a younger baby crowd. 3/19/13

Used in Lap Time and it went over okay as a first book. 3/26/14

Used in Lap Time again and one toddler girl though it was a blast yelling out what Mouse found each time. 3/29/16

Used again in Baby/Toddler Lap Time and it is one of the best books for toddlers I have come across. They just love telling mouse what he has found.

[Allyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is perfect for sharing! It has a good rhythmic flow for reading out loud. It also makes it easy to ask the children what color or what object/animal Mouse has found before reading the page for the answer. I used this book in baby/toddler storytime and preschool storytime, and it was a hit with both groups! Definitely recommended.

[Emily Carlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet story. Simple and straightforward. Mouse goes out for an adventure with Momma on a windy spring day. You can ask the kids what it is that Mouse is seeing (butterfly, worm, bird, etc). Then at the end, Mouse feels an oh-so-cozy hug from Momma. At this point is where in story time I ask kiddos to go give a hug/kiss to whoever brought them to ST.

[Milton Louie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little mouse sees some spring critters. B-

[Olivia S · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is kind of cute. I think little kids would like guessing what each thing is, and the repetition of the whoosh! and the funny words. Might use for a spring storytime. 2+

[Lexie · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect for storytime

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the art but it wasn't really about Spring.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet book about the critters you might see during springtime!
This would be a sweet book to read one-on-one. Lots of opportunity for rocking and bouncing. Could be a good book to practice deep breathing, too, as it repeats the word/sound "whoosh" a lot!

[Kathleen Hoellerich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mouse’s First Spring by Lauren Thompson and illustrated by Buket Erdogen is a brightly colored children’s book. The story is about a young mouse and his or her mother discovering different animals out on a windy spring day. They come across a butterfly, a snail, a bird, and so many other animals. The young mouse is very curious about them all. His or her mother always tells the young mouse the name of the animal that they have come across.

The illustrator uses very simple fetchers to show the mice’s fecal expressions. There are two small black dots for their eyes and a thin line to show their happy smile and whiskers. When the mouse and his or her mother are overjoyed at times in the story the illustrator puts a bright yellow glow around them. This helps the mice to stand out more when there are so many other bright colors on the page.

The author did not specify the sex of the young mouse. This could be a story about a boy and his mother or a daughter and her mother. By not giving the young mouse a certain sex allows children to interpret the story the way that they want to view. This may make the story more relatable to each individual child.

[Katie Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cute read! Mouse and Mom went out to play and discovered different springtime insects in the grass and animals in the such as birds, snails, and worms . I loved how repetitive the book was with lines like "What can it be wondered Mouse"- it would be a perfect read aloud for a young classroom. In addition, this book provided a lot of onomatopoeia and those words were indicated it other fonts and different colors, and clues that would help a reader, or a child in this case, make inferences about who Mouse was going to run into next. I loved the relationship between Mouse and Mom as well. It was very loving and warm. A overall great participation book that I enjoyed reading.

[Karsyn Konecny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a little mouse's first spring. The short picture book shows him experiencing things for the first time such as seeing a butterfly fly around, seeing a bird flying around, and even a frog hopping around. The book is good for young readers such as kindergarten age. I liked this book because it gives good examples of things that happen in the spring time in nature. It would also be a good book to create a lesson off of onomatopoeia because there are several examples of it throughout the book.

[Jewelianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mouse's First Spring has rhyming text, adorable illustrations, and a repetitive theme that small children seem to love. It was GREAT for spring storytime, because I could get the kids involved by asking them what Mouse saw on each page. Some of them got kind of over zealous and started yelling "butterfly!" before I could read the text, but it was a lot of fun for them, and I love books that have the option of "audience participation".

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Josiah really likes this book - I think it's because the story is so simple that he can "read" most of it by remembering the story, being prompted by the pictures, and, yes, even recognizing a few of the words. He especially likes to read the word "whoosh!" I think the book is cute and the pictures are nice, but I don't think I'll treasure it.

[Lydia Moses · Rating 5 out of 5]

We used this book as a read aloud for a kindergarten class when they were studying worms and snails. Mouse encounters a worm and a snail. There are also several examples of onomatopoeia in this book in bold letters. We then had the students vote for this book or for The Worm Family to show them the concept of voting. Inferences can be made by guessing who mouse runs into.

[Kelsey Scherer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just feel in love with this book and the illustrations! Cutest book ever! All about a mouse and his mom discovering different spring animals that he sees clues about tries to guess what each one is. After he asks what it is, his mom tells him with a smile on her face. At the end it's his mom embracing him tightly and giving him a nice hug and kiss. I will purchase this for future reads!

[Edna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mother mouse takes baby mouse outside to explore and discover what happens during the first days of spring in this fun young-toddler book filled with brightly colored oil crayon illustrations and action sounds.

[Keidra Polite · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mouse found different insects in the grass. It teaches he unique characteristics of these insects such as butterflies, flowers, and frogs. The mouse finds his mother and she gives him a kiss. This is a good book to introduce the Spring time to students.

[Christine Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mouse and its mother experience the delights of nature on a windy spring day.

Subjects

Nature stories

Winds -- Juvenile fiction

Spring -- Juvenile fiction.

Mother and child -- Juvenile fiction

Mice -- Juvenile fiction

[Sydney McClure · Rating 5 out of 5]

This could be used to show the different seasons to younger students. It's a very easy to even teach how to read. The pictures are great. The descriptive words used are onomatopoeia , so they make the book more fun.

[Hannah Sheffield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has beautiful, bright, and colorful pictures. The story is simple but, cute. A teacher could read this book aloud to young students just for a fun activity. I think young children would enjoy just listening and looking at the pictures.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to read to intorduce sping time to young students. They will read about all the fun things mose and his mamma do. This book is also full of onomatopoeia's that are in bright bold letters. Prek-1st

[Jessica Benson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a good book to read at the beginning of the spring. It is filled with onomatopoeia's in bright, bold letters. We used this book in a Kindergarten classroom who was studying worms and snails because the mouse runs into both during the story.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all I don't like mice...but...in spite of that, I thought this books was cute and loveable and sweet. It is a great book for little ones to learn about the seasons! The illustrations are cute even though they depict mice...the birds and butterfly and frogs are cute!

[midnightfaerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book my 5 yr old as well as my twin 3 yr olds loved. A solid reading level 1 book, this cute story keeps all ages engaged with the bright colorful pictures and cute story. A great addition to any children's library.

[Yu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures are nice and the rhythm is good for loud reading. My boy is 13 month now he repeat 'bird' almost each time I read that page and point at the plump bird. And he run away when it comes to the worm. He seems like this book and of course I like it!

[Trisha Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The little mouse was beginning to notice all of these new friends coming out of hiding. He had no idea that Spring was here! Spring brings so many great things including the wind. Mouse was able to find new friends and experience an adventure with his mom; priceless.

[Tiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about Mouse and Momma going out to discover spring time. Mouse sees different types of animals and not sure what they are; and Momma answers Mouse. Very sweet and endearing, lovely book for storytime of all ages.

[Jennifer Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book to read for story time since there aren't too many words on each page and the pictures are really good. However, I feel like the story could happen anytime time after snow and not necessarily just in spring.