Review by Booklist Review
PreS-K. Originally published as a wordless picture book in 1987, this version features text and enlarged illustrations. The story follows a lovable young mouse that sneaks out of the house, undetected by her mother, and joins her older siblings at school, where she raises her hand in math class, listens to stories, and naps until her mother arrives (alerted by the teacher) and retrieves her. The welcome addition of short phrases (School time! Everyone is busy ) certainly makes this an easier title to share aloud with groups than the wordless original is. But the strength is still the expressive, appealing artwork, which shows, with minimal lines and body language, young Bitty the mouse's yearning and excitement, the vivid fall colors, and the snug schoolroom, full of activity. A good choice to share with preschoolers who long to march off to elementary school with their older siblings. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The exuberant mouse family of Picnic and First Snow returns in another fully captivating wordless picture book. Left alone with Mama while the eight older mice hurry off to school, the smallest mouse decides to follow them. This sibling manages to creep into school and take a seat without attracting the teacher's notice but is soon discovered when, in imitation of the others, it raises a hand andhorrors!is called upon. Happily, there is still time for the little mouse to enjoy snacks and a story hour with the class before Mama comes to claim it. Once again, McCully demonstrates that a picture can be worth a thousand words. Her watercolors ably capture the sudden loneliness and uncontainable curiosity of the youngest sibling left behind, and her portrayals of life in the family and classroom burst with happy antics and commotion. A warm and joyous book, with the colors of autumn shimmering throughout. Ages 3-6. (September) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-When Bitty's older brothers and sisters depart for school, the toddler mouse follows them to their quaint one-room schoolhouse and joins the class. Discovered by the teacher, Bitty is invited to be her helper for math, snack time, and storytime. After a phone call from the teacher, a worried Mom picks up her errant but happy daughter and heads home. First published in 1987 as a wordless book, School has been reissued in a larger format with a few but well-chosen lines of text. The words and the larger, lush watercolor-and-pen illustrations will bring this classic story of a curious mouse to a generation of new readers.-Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
The story of a young mouse sneaking off to school to join her siblings is reissued with text and larger illustrations. The original was wordless, allowing the child to discover the story through illustrations alone, and though the new words tell the same tale, they are unnecessary and pandering. Ink-and-watercolor illustrations luminously portray fall foliage and classroom comforts. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
