Matthew Holm
Queen of the World!
Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
2005 (Random House)
- Publisher’s Description
- The Official Babymouse Website
- Book Blog: Thoughts
- Book Blog: More Thoughts
- Review at Big A little a
- Review at Miss Erin
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Our Hero
Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
2005 (Random House)
- Publisher’s Description
- The Official Babymouse Website
- Book Blog: First Post (First Impressions)
- Book Blog: Second Post (Fantasies)
- Book Blog: Third Post (Final Thoughts)
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Beach Babe
Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
2006 (Random House)
This volume is the third in the continuing story of Babymouse, a young mouse with a wild imagination. In this story, Babymouse’s family is going on a summer vacation to the beach and our heroine dreams of fame as a surfer babe while her little brother, Squeak, just wants some of her attention. The book chronicles the trip and the ongoing struggle between Babymouse, who only wants to be left alone to be cool and independent, and Squeak, who wants to have some fun with his sister. Eventually, Babymouse realizes that Squeak can be a lot of fun and everything works out.
I am constantly impressed with the high level of quality from this series. The stories are wonderful and the writing and art work together perfectly to create realistic characters who act and speak just as they should. Babymouse’s imagination is a delight and the frequent forays into her imaginary world (which is often based on references from literature, movies and culture) are wonderful. They work to tell us exactly how she is feeling and what she is thinking without actually spelling it out, and they are more creative. The imaginary worlds allow both Babymouse and the reader to work out what is going on without directly being held by the hand.
This book was a little different from the first two in that it wasn’t about Babymouse’s school friends and enemies. It dealt with her family for the first time, which was great. This let us get to know an aspect of Babymouse’s life that we hadn’t previously really gotten to see. Her parents are still pretty much out of the story, but the idea of family was very present here and that is important. Previously Babymouse’s family has just been something she sees briefly on her way to and from school and school-related encounters. This book expanded her world and made it more real. That was wonderful. It made her a more three-dimensional character and expanded her world for her readers.
This series is amazing and I am thrilled with every offering in it so far. I highly recommend it. This book is great and would be a wonderful book for anyone, but is especially recommended to anyone who has a younger sibling and knows both the pain and pleasures inherent in being the oldest! Check out Babymouse if you haven’t already, she’s absolutely wonderful!
- Cybil Finalist - Graphic Novels Ages 12 and Under - 2006
- Publisher’s Description
- The Official Babymouse Website
- Book Blog: Thoughts
- Book Blog: More Thoughts
- Review at Big A little a
- Review at Jen Robinson’s Book Page
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Rock Star
Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
2006 (Random House)
- Publisher’s Description
- The Official Babymouse Website
- Book Blog: First Post (First Impressions)
- Book Blog: Second Post (Pied Piper)
- Book Blog: Third Post (Final Thoughts)
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Heartbreaker
Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
2006 (Random House)
- Publisher’s Description
- The Official Babymouse Website
- Review at Jen Robinson’s Book Page
- Review at A Fuse #8 Production
- Review at Big A little a
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Camp Babymouse
Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
2007 (Random House)
- Publisher’s Description
- The Official Babymouse Website
- Book Blog: Thoughts
- Book Blog: More Thoughts
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Skater Girl
Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
2007 (Random House)
Babymouse stares longingly at the trophies in the school trophy case, none of which bear her name, remembering all of her less-than-thrilling “honorable mentions” and wishing that she could get a trophy of her own. Chances for glory come in unexpected places, however. As Babymouse is skating with her friends on a pond one day a famous figure skating coach stops her and invites her to train at the ice rink after school. With dreams of being an ice princess, Babymouse joyfully shows up for practice after practice, only to find out that it isn’t quite what she expected.
Yet again Jennifer and Matthew Holm have woven a delightful Babymouse story. This one is not quite as sharp as some of their previous titles, but for readers who already love this character and her world it will be more than satisfying. The ending is predictable (we don’t actually expect Babymouse to go on to win Olympic gold medals, after all), but the way the story gets there is sometimes surprising.
It’s very nice to see a book for kids where it’s ok for the main character to quit something. So often we end up with book after book after book repeating “I think I can” and showing kids working hard for impossible dreams and succeeding, which is great, but not always realistic. Sometimes you just can’t, or you choose not to, and both of those circumstances are ok. For Babymouse, it was ok. Even her mom said so!
I’m constantly impressed with the art in this series. It never gets repetitive or dull. Every installment is fresh and exploding with energy. The spare color palette (black, white and pink) makes for easy visual transitions between what is real and what is happening in Babymouse’s imagination. Still, I’m not sure I’ve quite figured out how much is real about the weirdnesses in her locker and that’s just fine with me!
While this isn’t the best of the Babymouse books, it’s certainly still a wonderful book and I highly recommend it. Babymouse may not be a skating star, but she is still a blast to read about!
- Publisher’s Description
- The Official Babymouse Website
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Puppy Love
Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
2007 (Random House)
- Publisher’s Description
- The Official Babymouse Website
- Book Blog: Thoughts
- Book Blog: More Thoughts
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