Shrinking Mouse

by Pat Hutchins

Shrinking Mouse

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals

Paperback

First published March 20, 1997

About the author

Pat Hutchins is an English illustrator and writer of children's books.

She won the 1974 Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject. The work was The Wind Blew, a picture book in rhyme which she also wrote. It shows how "a crowd of people anxiously chase their belongings" in the wind.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh so cute! I probably would have liked it even more when my kids were learning about perspective.

But if you're reading it openlibrary.org, mind the edition you click on. The first result took me to Miss Emma's Wild Garden, a worthy discovery but clearly an error. Another result was correct, thank goodness.

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I concur with most of the reviews that this is a cute book that teaches 4-5 year olds about perspective in an engaging manner.

As a divorced dad, I also hope that it will help my kids maintain some perspective as they shuttle between houses—just as the (charmingly drawn) animals in this book maintain perspective as they shuttle between habitats.

This subtle aspect of the book, which is probably outside the grasp of my 4 and 5 year olds (but who knows?), is the lesson that no matter where you go (or who you are), you, and your friends and family, are always “the right size.” That is, one’s importance or connection to others doesn’t diminish with distance.

[Zoraida Rivera Morales · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun picture book. Will bring up questions for preschool kids that can serve as discussion of what's far and near and how we see things. (For us grown-ups, perspective and position.) It provides space for kids to reach their own conclusions.

I miss the relationship aspect of these friends, though, I know this isn't a recently published book and the author could have used other criteria that doesn't conform to what we expect today.

Nevertheless, it's a book kids can enjoy and learn from. Be ready to answer questions!

[Jessalyn Plant · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork is very cute. I did feel that the concept of "perspective" that was discussed is something that kids learn intuitively and this book might be more confusing than helpful?
My hubby compared the animal's confusion and the storyline to a classic Winnie the Pooh type plot. Because he is right, I bumped my rating up to three 😝

[Sierra Dirksen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is about animals that believe when they run into the distance they are shrinking. They believe this because an owl seemed small when he flew away from them. Overall, the book did not seem to have a point and the drawings were very basic.

[Ashley Martin]

The story will teach the child spatial concepts and learn that as objects get farther away, they will appear smaller.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perspective, without ever mentioning the word. It talks about how things that are farther away look smaller and things up close look bigger.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book. My 6 yr old loved it

[Elizabeth S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. You can get so many different things out of it. Most important is, of course, a fun story. You can also read it as a story of friendship, courage, sacrifice, and trust. And I was pleasantly surprised that I could also read it as a tale teaching kids about changing relative sizes.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

PB33

I enjoyed Shrinking Mouse. The idea is novel, and the book introduces the idea of depth to children. This could have potential for an art or science lesson. The art is also cute and not overly simplified for young readers.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ages 4-5. This book is a a great way to teach children about spacial perspectives in a humorous and light way that children can understand. It can be used for dialogic reading and to open up conversations about spacial perspectives.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful easy reader! Clever premise and beautiful illustrations accompany this story. Mouse watches his friends running toward a far away forest and worries that they are vanishing as they appear smaller and smaller. We laughed and enjoyed the innocence of this fun book.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute tale and a great way to teach perspective.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this picture book exploring the concept of distance and perspective. Loved the pictures, especially.

[Mary Luzader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. A rather advanced concept book about perspective and size.

[Tony Petry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very cute and a cute little story line, I really enjoyed the artwork in it as well.

[Mandy Robek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge Pat Hutchins fan and just discovered this book. A great book for thinking about visual perspective.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The animals notice that owl get smaller as he gets farther away and conclude that he is shrinking. A simple picture book that is useful for any unit on perspective.

[Farah Taha]

This book targets ages 2-6. The forest friends Fox, Rabbit, Squirrel, and Mouse notice that their friend Owl gets smaller and smaller as he flies away from them, and they logically conclude that he is shrinking. I chose this book because it introduces the complexity of the spatial perception.