Mouse's First Day of School

Mouse's Firsts

by Lauren Thompson, Buket Erdogan (Illustrator)

One bright morning, Mouse discovers a whole new world.
There are colors to paint
red, yellow, blue
and letters to spell
A B C
and best of all, new friends to play with!
Wherever could they be?

Genres: School, Picture Books, Childrens, Back To School, Animals, Juvenile, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2003

Reviews

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very simple back to school story perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. Follow a little mouse as he discovers many of the things you might find in a classroom, from toys, to snacks, to best of all-friends! Lots of fun and interesting word choice in this one, with onomatopoeia and lots of sound words, which really appeal to children at the target age for this book. Tons of opportunities to talk about expectations for what you will see and do during the day while at preschool or daycare. The illustrations are fun since they are from a mouse perspective, and maybe a little more similar to a child’s eye view.

[Kraig Barth · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I would definitely consider this book to be suitable for toddlers, I like its effectiveness when looked at from a grammatical stand point. This book, "Mouse's First Day of School" by Lauren Thompson uses descriptive adjectives and nouns to discuss Mouse's first day experience at school and what he saw all around him. This book is definitely something that can enhance grammatical skills, but in terms of comprehension skills, it is not a great fit.

[Aolund · Rating 3 out of 5]

On an accidental trip to preschool one day, Mouse sees many things familiar to a preschool classroom, from dolls and blocks, to snacks and dress-up clothes. A nice repetitive structure and full of onomatopoeic words. While most of the pictures do not show any human characters, the one page that does unfortunately only depicts white children.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

We've been reading a lot of first-day-of-school books lately, and this was my least favorite. The illustrations are cute but I didn't feel like it really captured what school is like, just what objects you might see there.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

One bright morning mouse hides in a backpack, and when he emerges he discovers a whole new world. It's filled with numbers, letters, shapes, crayons, paint, snacks and various other exciting things to do, and friends to make. What is this place mouse wonders?

[Nickel Pickle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Today was my first day of PreK! My teacher read this book to us. It must not have been very exciting. I was more interested in telling Mommy about playing with play dough than telling her what the book was about.

[Lara Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows what to expect in a classroom from the perspective of a little mouse. It would be good to read to students before their first day so they know what to expect for school.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute art.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this book for my Grandson. He will love it!

[Bridgette Elston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute for a little one entering preschool. A little childish for a 4 or 5 year old entering Kindergarten.

[Dan Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryhming words with noun sounds

[Kristen Dutkiewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute interactive book for the beginning of the school year.

[Rainbow Room TOL]

2 copies

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of words teaching color, numbers, synonyms, and sound words!

[Ellon · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite of all the Mouse's First books. I just feel like the stuff was kind of random and the descriptions were awkward.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very simple, but very cute.

[Kristin Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The PreK liked that Mouse sneaked along to school in a backpack. It was fun for them to see school through Mouse's eyes.

[halina mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book full of basic info for kids!

[Kim Hampton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably great for early readers. But boring af for me as a parent using it as a bed time story.

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and great, would work well as going to preschool as well as for going to kindergarten.

[Emma Treganowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it for School Storytime. It was simple but loved by the kids. They liked to identify the colors and count the blocks with me. Kept them very engaged.

[Alicia Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

For: school fans; readers looking for a sweet beginner book about the fun that awaits at school (toys, friends, etc).

Possible red flags: surprise; feeling unsure.

[Carly Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

For Megan's Mason Award

Level: Early

Genre: Picture Book

Curricular Use: Guided or Independent reading

Topic: First Day of School

Social: First day of school, getting kids ready for school, making kids familiar with the things in a classroom setting

Literary Elements: Onomanapeoia, Rhyming, word art, giving an animal human traits

Strong connection between the pictures and the text

[Destiny Dawn Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

The oil painting illustrations have some nice saturated color to them that I think young kids will enjoy. The art style is sort of cutesy, but not so much so as to be irritating.

The text is sort of middling. There are a lot of sound words used, which I guess is fun. But at the same time, it's all a little predictable and formulaic. There's nothing wrong with it per se, just felt a bit dull to me.

[Missy Kirtley]

This book was bright and colorful, and probably would be good to read with a child at a younger age. I was going through some books to try and prepare my three-year-old for her first day of Montessori Preschool, and I don't think this one helped that much.

But the pictures are bright and cheerful, and kept her interest. I'll have to try it again with my younger daughter.

[Christyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was bright and colorful with simple, but cute illustrations. There are sound words, colors, shapes, and I could see it being a fun way to get kids interested in going to school/daycare. The twins (who I got the book for) are a bit young for school - but they enjoy making the sound noises and looking at the pictures.

[Trisha Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this little mouse, he is the cutest little mouse I ever seen! It seemed like Mouse had a very good day at school. He never imagined where he would end up or what he would see. He was lucky to find all different kinds of toys to play with. Most importantly he found his friends and they welcomed him with open arms to school. Mouse was some place where he belonged. It is a must read!

[Terry]

Borrow it only if you have a young child JUST entering school who seems anxious about what's going to happen. Get the full review here.

[Ruth Ann]

Simple text with large, bright illustrations make this book a winner for preschoolers or children headed off to kindergarten. As mouse explores a classroom, kids will discover what they might find when they go to school!