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Nippi ja Nappi
Wanda Gagin ajaton kuvakirja hurmaa niin aikuiset kuin lapsetkin. Nippi ja Nappi ovat kaksi pientä peltohiirtä, jotka päätyvät seikkailemaan salaperäiseen taloon, josta he löytävät monta kummallista asiaa.
45 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1931
1 person is currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Wanda Gág
85 books80 followersWanda Hazel Gág (pronounced GOG) was an American author and illustrator. She was born on March 11, 1893, in New Ulm, Minnesota. Her mother, Elisabeth Biebl, and father, Anton, were of Bohemian descent. Both parents were artists who had met in Germany. They had seven children, who all acquired some level of artistic talent. Gág grew up the eldest of these, and despite their economic hardships, the family was surrounded by music, art, light, and love, making it for the most part a joyous existence.
When Gág was 15, her father died of tuberculosis; his final words to her were: "Was der Papa nicht thun konnt', muss die Wanda halt fertig machen." ("What Papa couldn't do, Wanda will have to finish.") Following Anton's death the family was on welfare, and some townspeople thought that Gág should quit high school and get a steady job to help support her family. Despite this pressure, Gág continued her studies. After graduating in 1912, she taught country school in Springfield, Minnesota, from November 1912 to June 1913.
In 1917, she illustrated A Child’s Book of Folk-Lore, following which she worked on many different projects and became a well-known artist and author. Her art exhibition in the New York Public Library in 1923 was the true beginning of her fame. She gained a reputation as an illustrator for socialist publications such as The New Masses, and she considered herself a feminist and advocate of free love in the 1920s. She did not marry her lover until later in life, for instance, although she lived with him before they wed.
She was especially esteemed for her lithographs, though today if her name is known at all it is usually from her children's books, specifically the classic Millions of Cats, which won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958. Gág also received the Newbury Honor Award for this book, and the combined effects of it and her exhibition gave her the funds she needed to carry on her work without stress.
She died in New York City on June 27, 1946.
When Gág was 15, her father died of tuberculosis; his final words to her were: "Was der Papa nicht thun konnt', muss die Wanda halt fertig machen." ("What Papa couldn't do, Wanda will have to finish.") Following Anton's death the family was on welfare, and some townspeople thought that Gág should quit high school and get a steady job to help support her family. Despite this pressure, Gág continued her studies. After graduating in 1912, she taught country school in Springfield, Minnesota, from November 1912 to June 1913.
In 1917, she illustrated A Child’s Book of Folk-Lore, following which she worked on many different projects and became a well-known artist and author. Her art exhibition in the New York Public Library in 1923 was the true beginning of her fame. She gained a reputation as an illustrator for socialist publications such as The New Masses, and she considered herself a feminist and advocate of free love in the 1920s. She did not marry her lover until later in life, for instance, although she lived with him before they wed.
She was especially esteemed for her lithographs, though today if her name is known at all it is usually from her children's books, specifically the classic Millions of Cats, which won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958. Gág also received the Newbury Honor Award for this book, and the combined effects of it and her exhibition gave her the funds she needed to carry on her work without stress.
She died in New York City on June 27, 1946.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 8, 2020
When I started reading Wanda Gág's 1931 picture book Snippy and Snappy, the story vaguely but also at the same time immediately and obviously started to remind me of Aesop's Town Mouse and Country Mouse fable, namely because Snippy and Snappy's (two young field mouse siblings) adventures and misadventures in that house (as well as their potential and very palpable peril) really do (in my opinion) feel rather similar and akin to how in the Town Mouse and Country Mouse tale, the curious country mouse (just like the two field mice in Snippy and Snappy) finds the fascinating but ultimately much too dangerous human house not really worth the stress and the fear.
But indeed and this having been said, I also do not really consider Snippy and Snappy as an actual and bona fide adaptation of the Town Mouse and Country Mouse story either, but more an original Wanda Gág creation that features certain thematic correspondences and as such is basically a typical tale favourably comparing living in the country, living in or near a field, to residing in a place of human habitation (at least for mice, at least for rodents). And therefore, and in my opinion, Snippy and Snappy is basically a simple but delightful little picture book story that is humorous and generally quite sweetly and engagingly penned, with Wanda Gág's poetical text also perfect for reading aloud. However, I still do tend to find that that there are indeed a few minor spots in Snippy and Snappy where Wanda Gág's rhyming sequence does seem to feel a trifle artificial and awkward and that while Gág's signature black and white artwork is like always aesthetically adept, visually descriptive and also delightfully mirroring her rollicking and motion-imbued poetry, the illustrations are also rather small and sometimes a bit blurry (but that could of course also be because I was reading Snippy and Snappy online).
But indeed and this having been said, I also do not really consider Snippy and Snappy as an actual and bona fide adaptation of the Town Mouse and Country Mouse story either, but more an original Wanda Gág creation that features certain thematic correspondences and as such is basically a typical tale favourably comparing living in the country, living in or near a field, to residing in a place of human habitation (at least for mice, at least for rodents). And therefore, and in my opinion, Snippy and Snappy is basically a simple but delightful little picture book story that is humorous and generally quite sweetly and engagingly penned, with Wanda Gág's poetical text also perfect for reading aloud. However, I still do tend to find that that there are indeed a few minor spots in Snippy and Snappy where Wanda Gág's rhyming sequence does seem to feel a trifle artificial and awkward and that while Gág's signature black and white artwork is like always aesthetically adept, visually descriptive and also delightfully mirroring her rollicking and motion-imbued poetry, the illustrations are also rather small and sometimes a bit blurry (but that could of course also be because I was reading Snippy and Snappy online).
January 4, 2020
Super cute!
Content:
Language-none
Romance-none
Violence-there is a mousetrap and the dad mouse explains what will happen if the baby mice take any of that cheese. Very very mild. XD ("and that's the end of the little mousie")
Content:
Language-none
Romance-none
Violence-there is a mousetrap and the dad mouse explains what will happen if the baby mice take any of that cheese. Very very mild. XD ("and that's the end of the little mousie")
March 8, 2010
I read this while browsing used books at Gallagher's on Broadway. I never saw this as a child. Too bad, because I'm sure I would have loved it as much as "Millions of Cats" by the same author. A cute story of brother and sister mice who leave their burrow to explore a house, with Gag's gorgeous, clever, charming illustrations.
August 20, 2018
Given that Wanda Gag originally published this book in 1931, it is not a surprise that the story feels quite dated but it is still amazingly a cute tale. Wanda Gag's illustrations for this book are incredible. Her wood cuts are so beautifully done. I highly recommend the book for its illustrations!
July 11, 2009
This is the story of two little mice and their adventure out in the big world. This was a really fun book to read. The writing in the book was all curly and it reminded me a lot of a mouse tail. I found myself really enjoying reading this book.
October 29, 2021
I found the book to be enjoyable in its use of language, and the pictures were entertaining -- everything that I require in a children's picture book. It is dated in that it's from a time when writers (and people in general) used more words and the message is a bit trite. However, I think that there's something to be said for just a fun story. I also think that there is a lot that a creative and enthusiastic reader could do with this for an audience of children, and I agree with Lynd Ward that the picture of the two little mice crossing the threshold into the house is "the visual expression of adventure."
July 16, 2021
Her books are very old-fashioned. Lots of words and a kinda wonky little story that has that vintage kids vibe. I picked this up from a retiring teacher -- it just looked pristine, so I grabbed it. But I need to pick my books carefully, and I don't know that this will be a great one for my preschoolers. It's too long and has an old-school moral that I'm not necessarily pushing towards. (Explore AND make good decisions!). So I'll be passing this one along.
July 20, 2023
Published in 1931 when my father was 3 years old. It must have been one of his favorites as at some point he wrote his name in it and on it - Billy Casey is seen above the title. This is a fun adventure story of two mice - Snippy and her brother Snappy. The writing is lively and the illustrations - black and white drawings as was the style - are detailed enough to hold a child's attention and inspire imagination. I loved this book as a child and need to revisit it more often.
December 27, 2018
Klassikon viehätystä.
January 1, 2024
This story was not one of Gag's best, though the artwork was darling. It wore thin with its repetition, but I bet kids would be enchanted by it!
May 4, 2025
Another magical book by Wanda Gag!
March 7, 2015
Snippy and Snappy, a pleasingly pronounceable pair of names for sibling mice with a tendency toward mild mischief. These two aren't suited for the quietness of life at home with family in their little nook in the field. When Snippy and Snappy see what their father reads in The Mouse Paper news about big, wide gardens containing high, fancy houses, holding cozy, stuffed cupboards storing soft, mellow cheeses, they know one day they must visit such a place. A runaway ball of their mother's knitting yarn provides perfect reason for the excursion one day, and the two curious mice wind their way through all manner of countryside twists and turns, leading them to the humans' abode.
What Snippy and Snappy find in the house is eye-opening and astonishing, an array of items unlike anything seen in all of mousedom. There are gargantuan tables and chairs, carpets and ottomans and lamps and mops, strange organisms that don't grow like any fixtures of nature the mice have ever seen. And right where they read about it being, in the cupboard beside other, non-important, foodstuffs, is the cheese. But getting the cheese isn't so easy...unless it is. Are the newspapers wrong about cheese only being found tucked away in pantries? Can cheese be discovered much more easily on the floor, or is there reason for tiny rodents to be wary of goods made so readily available?
Had Wanda Gág (pronounced "Gog") done more of her work in the era of Caldecott Medals awarded for picture books, I'm sure she would have won recognition from the committee numerous times, for practically everything she created. I love her illustrations in Snippy and Snappy, the way she establishes atmosphere by compressing the space her drawings take up and allowing lots of nondescript white to hover around the edges. This is especially noticeable on the first page where Snippy and Snappy follow the girl carrying their yarn ball away. There's plenty of humor and creativity in this book, too, such as the mirror "fight" instigated by a couple of frightened little animals who have never seen reflective glass. I also like the story's rhythmic narrative, starting with the names of Snippy and Snappy and branching out from there. I would give Snippy and Snappy one and a half stars, and I thought about rounding up to two. The artwork isn't as fine as in ABC Bunny and the plot can't be considered as memorable as that of Millions of Cats (both Newbery Honorees by Wanda Gág), but this is a nice book in its own right. If one doesn't flirt with danger unnecessarily, one is likely to live a full, mostly un-harried life, and that's the lesson to be learned from Snippy and Snappy. Thank you, Wanda Gág, for another original piece of literary entertainment.
What Snippy and Snappy find in the house is eye-opening and astonishing, an array of items unlike anything seen in all of mousedom. There are gargantuan tables and chairs, carpets and ottomans and lamps and mops, strange organisms that don't grow like any fixtures of nature the mice have ever seen. And right where they read about it being, in the cupboard beside other, non-important, foodstuffs, is the cheese. But getting the cheese isn't so easy...unless it is. Are the newspapers wrong about cheese only being found tucked away in pantries? Can cheese be discovered much more easily on the floor, or is there reason for tiny rodents to be wary of goods made so readily available?
Had Wanda Gág (pronounced "Gog") done more of her work in the era of Caldecott Medals awarded for picture books, I'm sure she would have won recognition from the committee numerous times, for practically everything she created. I love her illustrations in Snippy and Snappy, the way she establishes atmosphere by compressing the space her drawings take up and allowing lots of nondescript white to hover around the edges. This is especially noticeable on the first page where Snippy and Snappy follow the girl carrying their yarn ball away. There's plenty of humor and creativity in this book, too, such as the mirror "fight" instigated by a couple of frightened little animals who have never seen reflective glass. I also like the story's rhythmic narrative, starting with the names of Snippy and Snappy and branching out from there. I would give Snippy and Snappy one and a half stars, and I thought about rounding up to two. The artwork isn't as fine as in ABC Bunny and the plot can't be considered as memorable as that of Millions of Cats (both Newbery Honorees by Wanda Gág), but this is a nice book in its own right. If one doesn't flirt with danger unnecessarily, one is likely to live a full, mostly un-harried life, and that's the lesson to be learned from Snippy and Snappy. Thank you, Wanda Gág, for another original piece of literary entertainment.
January 28, 2025
While it is of its time, I don't think it has lost its appeal. Snippy & Snappy, two field mice mistakenly stumble into a house. Their reckoning of human items is an amusing introduction to hermeneutics, in a way. Alternating between prose and rhyming verse helps to keep the story moving and the interplay of the text and imagery is nothing short of masterful. Wanda Gag's picture making was groundbreaking for the time and to this day stands apart.
January 29, 2012
i love that the book is so enormous and treats such a tiny subject.
September 30, 2014
delightful mouse fun!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews