A Brand-New Day with Mouse and Mole

Wong Herbert Yee's Mouse and Mole

by Wong Herbert Yee

Mole is having a very bad morning. His pants have holes in them. So do his shirts. What could be the cause of all these holes? Turns out, moths make holes in clothes, and that makes Mole very grumpy. So Mouse does what a good friend should do and takes Mole on a trip to the store. There, Mole realizes all of his clothes are OLD. And what’s NEW is in. What is a reluctant-to-change Mole going to do? The latest adventure of Mouse and Mole shows that sometimes it’s fun to try something new . . . and sometimes it isn’t. But friendship helps make each brand-new day one to look forward to!

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

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2008

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

[Julie]

Mole's clothes have moth holes, so the two friends set out to replace them for him. A cute story about friendship, doing for others, and reusing what you have to make things better - "what's old is new." Definitely a series read-alike for Arnold Lobel's The Frog and Toad Treasury: Frog and Toad are Friends/Frog and Toad Together/Frog and Toad All Year.

[Anthony Field]

Banger

[Meredith]

This picture book features four stories about Mouse and Mole:
• "Holes"
• "What’s New Is IN!"
• "Nibbles and Bites"
• "What’s Old Is NEW!"

In "Holes," Mole discovers there are holes in all his clothes.

In "What’s New Is IN!", Mouse and Mole visit the nearby clothing store to buy Mole new clothes.

In "Nibbles and Bites," Mouse and Mole go fishing.

In "What’s Old Is NEW!", Mouse mends the holes in Mole’s clothes, and Mole puts up a tire swing.

These are four gentle stories about two woodland animals who are friends. They emphasize friendship, thoughtfulness, consideration for others, and problem solving. They also focus on everyday occurrences, which affords young readers the opportunity to reflect on their own experience and the experience of others.

[Jo Oehrlein]

Oops. Mole's pants have a hole in them. In his dresser, he finds that all his clothes have holes in them because of moths. He and Mouse go shopping. The store doesn't have clothes like he's used to wearing, but he branches out a little.

[Bonnie]

Fun! Independent reading

[Emily F]

Early chapter book with mild, slow content featuring positive relationships

[IrenesBookReviews]

Mole wakes up and finds he has holes in all of his clothes. His friend Mouse takes him to the store to find some new clothes. The clothes Mole likes aren’t in style but they are what he likes. After shopping Mole and Mouse decide to go out fishing. They think they have caught a big fish but it turns out to be an old tire. The end of the story finds Mouse fixing Moles clothes while Mole is out making a tire swing for Mouse to enjoy.

I enjoyed the message of friendship. I also liked how they each do something nice for the other without expecting anything in return. The interaction of the two characters made this book a fun read.

I got this book from our library and reviewed it for http://thereadingtub.com/index.asp

[Shannon]

Amazon Book Description:
Mole is having a very bad morning. His pants have holes in them. So do his shirts. What could be the cause of all these holes? Turns out, moths make holes in clothes, and that makes Mole very grumpy. So Mouse does what a good friend should do and takes Mole on a trip to the store. There, Mole realizes all of his clothes are OLD. And what’s NEW is in. What is a reluctant-to-change Mole going to do? The latest adventure of Mouse and Mole shows that sometimes it’s fun to try something new . . . and sometimes it isn’t. But friendship helps make each brand-new day one to look forward to!

[Renee]

Mole was hoping for a fabulous “brand-new” day, but instead his day started off terribly when he realizes all his clothes were full of holes from hungry moths! Mole’s friend Mouse decides that Mole needs to go shopping from some “brand-new” clothes, but first Mouse decides they need to stop for lunch so she can try some “brand-new” food. Mole doesn’t want to try “brand-new” food or “brand-new” clothes, but will he realize that perhaps new and different isn’t that bad after all or stick with his same old stuff? Grab this fun early reader today to find out!

[Dolly]

This is a fun tale in the Mouse and Mole series by Wong Herbert Yee. The story is broken up into short chapters/stories 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 being true to yourself (as well as the impermanence of fashion.) I loved the message about repairing and reusing old items. We enjoyed reading this story together.

[Janet]

Mouse and mole are endearing characters who share their friendship in everyday happenings. In this title mouse helps mole with his clothes that need mended, they go to lunch, and they joyfully play. Nice normal characters enjoying the day.
A little over three years later I have reread this title and love it more than the first time as the basis for friendship and relationships is so apparent in this title. It is the small things in life that matter between two beings and having the back of the people you care about. Great life lessons delivered in a subtle joyful way.

[Esther May]

I have said it before, and I will say it again. I love Mouse and Mole. The way that they always figure out how to be friends even though they are so different is amazing. I love that mole is so not into the latest thing and how he uses acorn hats as buttons. I had a whole discussion about acorn caps with my children after reading this book and we even went to find some. Really cute book.

[Sima]

A great beginning chapter book. Similiar to Frog and Toad, it has two main characters, Mole and Mouse. Mole and Mouse go on an adventure in this book to try to figure out how they can solve the problem of holes in Mole's clothes.

[Katt Hansen]

Change is good! I liked how each character in this book was willing to step (at least a little bit) outside of their comfort zones. Also, the concept of reusing and recreating with what you have is great. I liked this book and would highly recommend it for young readers.

[Amy Brown]

A sequel to Abracadabra! magic with Mouse and Mole.

[Drew]

a nice little story for young readers (grade 1&2) about two friends.

[Gail]

In the vein of Frog and Toad

[Rachel]

Stories did not flow for me that the language is stilted, the characters are interesting though.

[Meribeth]

Reminiscent of FROG & TOAD stories of friendship and oddball situations. Love it!

[Tina]

Read this whole series with my 7 year old daughter. Sweet books for beginning chapter book readers. We love stories about little critters who live in cozy tree holes or burrows.

[Hillvan]

350L

[Elizabeth]

Oh, no, Mole has moths in his house!! They are eating his clothes. Mouse helps Mole to have new clothes. Their friendship and problem solving is fun to read about.

[Heidi]

I love the fun little adventures mouse and mole go on and my kids love it too. This series is perfect for reading aloud to young children just starting to listen to chapter books.

[Ella Zig]

This was not well written nor interesting.

Skip it.

[sweet orange books]

One of my absolute favorites of this year! Mouse and Mole remind me of the legendary friendship between Toad and Frog.

Read and reviewed 2018-11-27

[Kate Hastings]

RL 350

[Gabrielle Neufeld]

I gave this book 4 stars. I liked this book and its friendship story. Its funny and simple.

Grade Equivalen: 2.6
Interest level: 1-4

[Yannick]

CATEGORIES/GENRES FOR THIS CLASS FULFILLED BY THIS BOOK:
Easy Reader, Fiction

ESTIMATE OF GRADE LEVEL INTEREST:
K-3

ESTIMATE OF READING LEVEL:
2.7

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:
Mole and Mouse decide to try new things and end up having fun, even though at first Mole doesn't like to try new things

IDENTIFY AT LEAST 2 CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS GENRE AND SUBGENRE AND DISCUSS HOW THEY APPEAR IN YOUR BOOK:
Easy readers for emergent and early fluent readers contain richer vocabulary, and this book includes such words as "muttered", "huffed", "mannequin", and "rummaged". The book, though, is mostly composed of basic vocabulary words which will make beginner readers feel confident to try and read the entire book. There are more words on the page (a characteristic of Easy Readers) than early emergent books, but there are still enough pencil and gouache drawings that show what Mouse and Mole do throughout their day that even early emergent readers will be drawn to the story.

IN WHAT WAYS AND HOW WELL DOES THE BOOK AS A WHOLE SERVE ITS INTENDED AUDIENCE?:
Students will be drawn to the adorable drawings of mouse and mole having fun together as they splash in the water and jump from a willow vine or try on colorful clothes in a store. Early fluent readers will appreciate the subtle humor such as Mole having holes in somewhat embarrassing places in his pants.

AWARDS IF ANY: None

LINKS TO PUBLISHED REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL SOURCES:
Catholic Library World, 09/01/09
Horn Book Magazine, 04/01/09
School Library Journal, 11/01/08

[Ruth]

Mole was so cute!