Upstairs Mouse, Downstairs Mole

Wong Herbert Yee's Mouse and Mole

by Wong Herbert Yee

"Delightful. . . . A real winner."--School Library Journal "The friendly, cooperative tone of the text is reminiscent of the Frog and Toad series."--Kirkus Reviews "Yee's comfy beginning reader (dedicated to 'Friends of Frog and Toad') . . . packs in plenty of sweetness and civility."--Publishers Weekly

Mouse and Mole are neighbors.
Mouse lives inside an oak tree, and Mole lives in a hole underneath.
They are neighbors, but they are also friends.
Sometimes friends make mistakes--but they always try to help each other out. That is what Mouse and Mole do.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship, Animals, Fiction, Chapter Books, Audiobook

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

I was born in Detroit, Michigan, one of seven. My first grade teacher tacked a drawing of mine, Horse with Feedbag up on the bulletin board. From there I went on to study art at Wayne State University, graduating in 1975 with a BFA in printmaking. I had my fair share of rejections at the start, but through perseverance my first picture book, EEK! There’s a Mouse in the House was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1992. My latest early reader, Mouse and Mole Fine Feathered Friends received a 2010 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award.

Reviews

[Jill]

This was super cute!!

I am always on the hunt for good rest time read-alouds. Mostly these are books written for first or second graders to read to themselves. But to pass my test, they have to be funny!! Lots of pictures and good characters, too. This one fit the bill! I even think it kind of lended itself to a little vocabulary building and a few concepts! Good find, Mrs. Weiss!

[Lια]

I read these when I was little! These are so cute!

[Kristin]

Cute book about friendship and compromise and compassion for one another

[Meredith]

This picture book features four stories about Mouse and Mole:
• "Clean and Tidy"
• "The Invitations"
• "Kind, Good Neighbors"
• "The Boat"

In "Clean and Tidy," Mouse and Mole cooperate and use teamwork to solve a problem.

In "The Invitations," Mole invites Mouse over for lunch, and Mouse invites Mole over for dinner.

In "Kind, Good Neighbors," Mouse and Mole show empathy towards and understanding of their differences.

In "The Boat," Mouse and Mole paddle a boat on the pond.

These are four gentle stories about two woodland animals who become friends. The predominant theme is consideration for others, which is a wonderful message to impart especially in America’s ruthlessly individualistic and capitalistic society. In two of the four stories, Mouse and Mole look at the world from the other’s perspective, which prompts them to consider the other’s needs and them adjust their actions. The stories show what it looks like to be a good neighbor. They also stress kindness and cooperation and feature wholesome fun.

[Sherry]

Lovely, wholesome early readers, the Mouse and Mole series of books are instant classics. Beautifully, delicately, almost magically illustrated. Delightful, telling stories of true friendship, they are reminiscent of the "Wind in the Willows" and "Frog and Toad". However, they are perhaps more compelling to today's young readers. The text is integrated with the vibrant watercolor pictures that fill the entire page. Mouse and Mole are direct, and express what they feel. Yee delivers the kind of picture book readers teachers love, and parents and kids love to snuggle up and read together.

For ages 4-7.

[Katie]

I read this lovely book to my under the weather 3 yro. I was struck by the beautiful simplicity of its messages, some which actually bear on modern life so poignantly, I could imagine sharing it with adults.

[Allison]

I'm glad we found this series! Ruby is still not quite ready to make the leap to me reading aloud longer chapter books w/out pictures on every page, so I was in search of more series in between to keep us going. This cute friendship story reminds me of Frog and Toad and is delightful and fun. I'm sure we'll be reading them all.

[David Goetz]

A great book for young readers--early elementary, in most cases. Serves well as a read-aloud for younger kids, also. Illustrations are excellent and the stories show the thoughtfulness, generosity, and mutual regard that should exist between friends.

[Bonnie]

My 7-year-old gave it 4 stars and said he wished there was some action or mystery. These stories are sweet and cute about a mouse and a mole being kind and good neighbors. They're sort of a mixture between Toot and Puddle and Sophie Mouse. Cute color illustrations. Last story, they do a rain dance.

[Janet]

Mouse and Mole are very helpful and thoughtful friends and they share work chores and just in general are kind and helpful to each other. This is a charming series with illustrations done in watercolors and colored pencils. All friendships/ relationships should be this amicable.

[Ayaan Shah]

Mouse and mole coroperated to each other

[Sarah N]

Lovely and refreshing. What would the world be like if we considered the needs of our neighbors more often, like Mouse and Mole do?

[Danette]

8/14/18 Read with Julia

[Amanda]

A great option for an early reader. Engaging characters & story. Wonderful illustrations.

I look forward to continuing this series with my daughter.

[Melanie]

Very cute book, nice story line about cooperation, kindness, thoughtfulness and friendship. Beautiful pictures!

[Mary]

For fans of Frog and Toad.

[Laura]

Very frog & toad esque

[Dodie]

I cute book to show kids how working together is a win win for all

[Giselle]

What a cute book! All about team work and understanding other people's needs.

[Mbgirl]

I am absolutely in love with the cartoonist illustrator and the stories. God bless all of my many friends who all decided to birth humans this past year

[Flo Rogers]

It was an okay read aloud for 1st grade.

[Emily F]

Early chapter book with mild, slow content featuring positive relationships

[Gail]

Cute friendship story.

[Sera]

Super sweet & simple :)

[J.]

AR Quiz No. 88683 EN Fiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: LG - BL: 3.0 - AR Pts: 0.5

[Christine Turner]

Mouse and Mole are neighbors. Mouse lives inside an oak tree, and Mole lives in a hole underneath. They are neighbors, but they are also friends. Sometimes friends make mistakes, but friends always try to help each other out. That is what Mouse and Mole do. A sweet and fun beginning chapter book by the creator of Fireman Small, Upstairs Mouse, Downstairs Mole is the story of two neighbors who go together like a pair of oars.

Subject: Mice -- Juvenile fiction
Moles (Animals) -- Juvenile fiction.
Neighborliness -- Juvenile fiction.
Cooperativeness -- Juvenile fiction.
Sanitation -- Juvenile fiction.

[Jen Ammenti]

How can you not fall in love with Mouse and Mole? They swept me back to my childhood loves Frog and Toad. Short, sweet stories with themes of friendship and teamwork, as well as awareness and celebration of differences. Never preachy and very matter fact, readers will find mouse and moles adventures easy to connect with. These stories are perfect for the emerging reader, destined to be revisited again and again like old friends.

[Dolly]

This is a fun tale in the Mouse and Mole series by Wong Herbert Yee. The story is broken up into short chapters and with colorful illustrations, it's great for young children who are just starting to read chapter books. It's a story of friendship and the importance of communication. We enjoyed reading this story together.

[Molly Gore]

I thought this book's concept was cute. Not only did it provide some very basic knowledge about mole habits, as well as mice, but it also introduced basic work ethics. For instance, working together to make things more efficient and enjoyable for everyone. I also liked that text was split up in a way to directly correspond with the pictures so children can identify new concepts/words with the action.

[Shannon]

Amazon Book Description:
Mouse and Mole are neighbors. Mouse lives inside an oak tree, and Mole lives in a hole underneath. They are neighbors, but they are also friends. Sometimes friends make mistakes, but friends always try to help each other out. That is what Mouse and Mole do.

A sweet and fun beginning chapter book by the creator of Fireman Small, Upstairs Mouse, Downstairs Mole is the story of two neighbors who go together like a pair of oars.