Mouse Paint

by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Perfect for fans of Lois Ehlert and Press Here, this charming picture book gently explores the world of color and celebrates the joy of creativity.

One day three white mice discover three jars of paint--red, blue, and yellow. But what happens when they splash in the colors, mixing the red and blue? Or dance in the blue and yellow? This playful introduction to colors will appeal to any budding artist or curious preschooler.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Art, Animals, Storytime, Fiction, Kids

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Ellen is the daughter of Joseph Adolphus (a businessman) and Nell (Orum) Stoll; married David Albert Walsh (a professor), August 25, 1964; children: Benjamin Martin. She was educated at Maryland Institute of Art, B.F.A., 1964; attended University of Minnesota, 1966-69.
She lives in upstate New York.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and effectively illustrated introduction to color mixing. Not much story.

There is a misleading introduction at the start of a cat, suggesting that it will present some threat or action which never takes place. I guess Walsh doesn't know her Chekov.

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes and definitely, I totally, I absolutely adore (and also do appreciate) how Ellen Stoll Walsh in her 1989 board book Mouse Paint (nicely small in circumference and as such perfect little hands, for toddlers to hold by themselves, on their own) with very simple mouse themed contents (with words) and delightfully expressive accompanying artwork introduces both the primary colours of red, yellow, blue and also demonstrates how mixing these then creates entirely different hues (that yellow combined with red makes orange, that yellow mixed with blue makes green, and that blue and red create the colour purple), with Mouse Paint presenting itself as engaging, with a lovely sense of both textual and visual fun, as educational without any kind of annoying didacticism and heavy messaging. But truth be told, I must admit to finding the inclusion by Ellen Stoll Walsh of a cat in Mouse Paint and how said feline is no threat to the three mice when they are white (because the cat supposedly is not able see white mice on a piece of paper) a bit ridiculous and problematic since Ellen Stoll Walsh really and truly does nothing with this. For when in Mouse Paint the three mice start playing with and in the paint jars and become colourful and thus no longer white, the cat is then not shown by Stoll Walsh as suddenly noticing and trying to chase the mice, the cat just seems to totally disappear, leaving kind of an annoying textual thread going nowhere (which does not really bother my inner child all that much but certainly is a bit frustrating to and for my adult reading self).

However, albeit that Mouse Paint is to and for me a three star book (as that cat textually not really doing anything except being kind of a placeholder so to speak is certainly more than a bit of an annoyance), well, obtaining and reading the 2010 dual language English/Spanish edition of Mouse Paint, yes, this does make me raise those three stars to a very solidly and appreciated four stars for Mouse Paint / Pintura de raton. For not only does Ellen Stoll Walsh in Mouse Paint: Pintura de raton place the Spanish text directly below and not to the side of the English words and which I personally think definitely makes reading and understanding the Spanish parts of Mouse Paint /Pintura de raton a lot easier and a lot more user friendly, I also majorly adore how the Spanish words are so semantically close to the English text that I have had no trouble AT ALL figuring out the former, using Ellen Stoll Walsh's original English words for Mouse Paint, her accompanying illustrations as well as my personal knowledge of French and my remembrances of when I took Spanish in the early 1980s during my undergraduate years to figure out the Spanish text and not even once needing to check dictionaries etc., and therefore making Mouse Paint / Pintura de raton a simple and wonderful dual language book (and also a book that in my opinion would also work very well for introducing colours in elementary level Spanish language courses).

[Christian Schultheiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mom brought over this book when she decided to visit today, saying she found it in an old box and maybe I’d want to read it to my son and once I saw it. I swear a piece of me literally teleported right back to my childhood sitting on my grandmas stoop and reading this silly little mouse book that just luckily happened to also explain the basics of the color wheel. 3.25/5

[Heidi (can’t retire soon enough) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My oldest learned his colors by making me read this over and over... just seeing the cover takes me back to those wonderful memories (and the mice were pretty charming too)!

[midnightfaerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our second Ellen Stoll Walsh book, it was also in our Kindergarten basics box. An engaging story about some mice playing with paints and trying to stay away from a cat at the same time. Walsh's adorable illustrations come to life again in this book. A good level 1 reading book for beginner's, but also enjoyed very much by my 2 yr old twins. A book even the parents can enjoy.

[noukclau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eh oui je travaille avec des enfants maintenant, je vais donc noter chacun de leurs livres

[Crystal Marcos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three white mice find paint jars and see what happens when they take a dip. What is even more fascinating is what happens when they start mixing those colors. This is a fun way to teach children primary and secondary colors. Watch out for that cat!

[Sara Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Mouse Paint,” is a wonderful concept book to teach children about primary and secondary colors. It is basic, predictable, and entertaining all at the same time. Children will catch onto the pattern with the authors repetitious words and the coaxing illustrations.

The story is about three white mice standing on a white piece of paper camouflaging themselves so that cat won’t see them. One day, the cat takes a nap and the three little mice discover three jars of paint and climb right in. Now one mouse is red, one is blue, and one is yellow (the three primary colors). Now the mice find puddles that they accidentally spilled and decide to dance each one in their own separate puddle. Now each mouse has created a “new” color (secondary color) orange, green, and purple. The story ends with the three mice cleaning themselves off in the cat’s water dish and painting the paper instead.

This story is short and sweet and a great way to introduce primary and secondary colors.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book to teach primary and secondary colors. Mice climb into jars of paint and then make puddles of color on the ground.

I've read this book so many times to my daughter we both have it nearly memorized.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice board book about colors. Small children will be introduced to how different colors mix to make new colors. I think the earlier you can interest small children in reading the better; books like this are the perfect to transition from being read to to reading on your own. Impressionistic illustrations.

[Marhaba Laghari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was observing an other teacher while she read this book to her class, and I was absolutely invested. Great read!

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

These mice are adorable. A simple way to teach primary colors and color mixing. My favorite parts: the mice washing themselves in the cat's water bowl, and the ending. Cute. Simple. And I like the illustration technique.

7/20/15 Used in Movement storytime. Perfect for the age I tend to get. They loved seeing the colors emerge after the mice mixed them. As I read, I had them call out the colors to me to keep them involved and "test" their knowledge.

9/21/16 & 9/22/16 Used in toddler Mouse theme. The only downside to this book--I thought we had a BIG copy, and I couldn't find one. So I was stuck with this tiny one. But the kids loved it anyway. They liked seeing the color changes. And I had them telling me the colors. Best book of the 3 today.

3/19/18 Used in Movement again. Fabulous.

[Shanna Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This playful, lucidly-written fantasy about three mice will entertain and amuse young readers while introducing them to a bit of color theory. In the story, three white mice discover three pots of paint on the white paper where they live. They first dive into the paint to color themselves, then splash in paint puddles and discover that primary colors, when combined, make new colors. Finally, they wash themselves clean (in the cat's water bowl) and paint the paper with all the available colors -- except for a section of white where they can hide from the cat.

This story is probably best suited for babies and toddlers, but its humor will also appeal to the kindergarten and early-elementary ages.

[Nick Molinet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mouse Paint is a really good book that does a great job at teaching children about primary and secondary colors but its also very entertaining. I like this book because of its simplicity, sometimes there are some concept books who are good teaching a subject but are way to complex so what is good about this book is that it uses white mice as the main focus and then has them dip in and mix paint to make new shades of colors.

LE: After the story you can take the children to the art center where you will have paper and finger paint ready for them. you can have several circles on the paper that have the name of the color written under it and then with the children you can start to fill in the circles with the paint and mix colors to make new shades.

[elissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. The big book of this is fun to read at storytime, but it's the pictures & the color lesson that really make it what it is. There's not much of a story. I like Mouse Count better.

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a new book for my 3 year old's repertoire. I liked that it taught her more about colors and that it encouraged interaction between the two of us while we read it. It could have been a bit more FUN for my taste but she has requested it three nights in a row so who am I to argue!

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that introduces the concept of mixing colors to make other colors. I don't like the constant insistence in our media to cast cats as villains in our culture, but I like the way it was just presented as a gentle fact that cats chase mice in this book.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who doesn't love these crazy mice? They are a simple way to introduce even very young children to the joy of colors, identifying them as well as mixing and matching them.

[Kaylie Singleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to have children read when teaching them about color. Kids and parents will both appreciate this story.

[ke-sha]

Picked this up from the goodwill recently and thought it was cute. It will teach the kids about mixing colors and it's just a cute story overall I like it.

[Anita Marlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a concept book. It teaches children about primary and secondary colors. It is a very simple story and using very simple sentences, good for younger children.

[Jessica Calaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby - 3 years

[Annie Wolford · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like this book very much. I thought it was a little confusing because the of pictures displayed and the mice jumping in the puddles could be misleading to young kiddos. The issue I had with the pictures was the mice shown and then one mice jumping in the puddle. I thought this could be confusing because a kindergartner could have a hard time distinguishing who jumped in the puddle and what color they made. I think this book did have some positive intentions though, but the way it was portrayed could be troublesome for a young child.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure how I made it this long without rereading this (because let's be honest I know I had to have read it or had it read to me as a child) but so cute and such a great way to teach colors.

[Gabrielle Stoller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids LOVED talking about mixing colors! It's a great example/way of sharing primary colors and also about camouflage.

[spirited.pages · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgic classic, read to kids for work

[Tyler Schaben · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic

[Natasha Roslosnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute book for preschool aged children - basic color mixing with a hint of danger.

[Ethan & Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought mice had bad eyesight

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three white mice paint with the colors red, yellow, and blue.

This picture book teaches primary and secondary colors.