Mouse's First Summer

Mouse's Firsts

by Lauren Thompson, Buket Erdogan (Illustrator)

Mouse and Minka invite YOU to celebrate summer with a picnic in the park.
Roll down the hill on tickly green grass.
Fly kites fluttery high in the sky.
And don't forget juicy watermelon!
But before it's time to go home, a summer surprise sparkles in the sky.
CRACKLE, POP, BOOM!
What's making that sound?

Genres: Picture Books, Summer, Storytime, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 25, 2004

Reviews

[Andréa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why does Minka have a name but Mouse is just Mouse?

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute read!!! I loved the illustrations and colored text!!!

[raccoon reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Woods loved this one. It's pretty adorbs.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit it. This whole series just makes me happy. They're perfect for storytime with the little ones. I used this for a unit on summer, and it went over very well. I especially appreciate the sibling relationship as represented here. As an extra bonus, it was a color concept book, too! And there are fireworks. Yippee!

[Dannaca · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this one for our Summer Foods story time. It's a very basic story, but it was great for reinforcing the sign language we've been working on this summer. There are a wide variety of colors for the things Mouse and Minka find at the picnic and the story ends with fireworks, which makes it a good one for 4th of July as well.

[Sami Pratt]

Such a cute book, perfect timing for the fourth of July! Mouse and Minka are having a summer picnic. They invite the reader to join them! Rolling down the hills, feeling the prickly green grass, and juicy watermelon. SNAP CRACKLE BOOM! something magical in the sky... a glittery sky!

[Ellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a bunch of the Mouse's First books to some of my classes this year. This is not my favorite of the bunch but I still like it. It's great for colors but I think the rhythm and rhyme is somewhat inconsistent and awkward.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good mentor text for incorporating verbs and adjectives into writing.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for preschool story time with a summer or picnic or mouse theme. Fun and very simple with a little bit of color focus (red watermelon, black ants, etc.) thrown in for kicks.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A color learning book about a summer picnic ending with a firework display that includes all the colors.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

[Trisha Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made for a seamless transition into a picnic basket felt board I did. My kids enjoyed seeing the mice explore the picnic basket and park!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picnic theme

[Selena L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy to read and keeps the preschoolers interested.

[Rolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.

[Alicia Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

For: summer fans; readers looking for a fun beginner summer book with colors.

Possible red flags: surprise.

[Myra Tiwari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great illustrations! The book does not rhyme like the Mouse's First Spring which was a bit disappointing.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute but nothing special

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toddler and preschool
Colors

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

M loved mouse's first fall, and she enjoyed mouse's first spring. Summer fell a little flat for us - I'm not sure if that's about the book or about M being a bit older now.

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

21 week old Leo likes Mom's voice and sound effects, which were easy to add to the text.

[Addie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, lovely illustrations. 22 month old seemed to like it.

[Samantha]

summer storytime

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mouse and Minka explore different things commonly found during the summer

[Miss Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mouse and Minka explore a summer picnic and see many colors along the way.

[Kim Hoang · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute!

[Allyson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second Mouse book I've read, the other being Mouse's First Spring. That title was wonderful- it flowed well and sounded good out loud. Mouse's First Summer, although a nice book, was not as effective as First Spring. The narrative doesn't have the same repetitive consistency. There also seems to be too many adjectives for the text to flow well when reading aloud, e.g.: "Drippy, sweet, wet, red watermelon." I read it to kindergarteners who enjoyed it, but it didn't receive the enthusiasm that some other books do.

[carissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommened: toddlers/preschoolers

Mouse and Minka invite YOU to celebrate summer with a picnic in the park.
Roll down the hill on tickly green grass.
Fly kites fluttery high in the sky.
And don't forget juicy watermelon!
But before it's time to go home, a summer surprise sparkles in the sky.

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple story for introducing summer fun, has question which the older toddlers had fun answering. 7/11/12

Used again this year and one toddler really enjoyed answering the questions. 6/26/13

Used again. Still looking for young baby beach/summer books. 6/17/14

Used again, maybe should up it to 3.5 since it seems to go over well in Lap Time.

[Taylar Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mouse's First Summer, was a short and cute reading. I think this book would be best for preschool and Kindergarten. During the story, Mouse, one of the 2 main characters is learning about a few new things that are happening in the season of summer. This would be a good read for Pre-K and Kindergarten because this is during the time that they are still learning about things in the world.