Review by Booklist Review
Hilarity ensues when Sadie Mouse literally wrecks the house in this comics-style book. The book opens with a visibly angry Sadie cleaning a messy home, as the young mouse is tired of being good while her brother gets away with mischief. He writes on the walls, hides dirty dishes instead of washing them, and does not recycle properly. When Mother Mouse goes away, leaving a long list of chores, Sadie decides to rebel by completing the chores in an unexpected, literal way. Sadie checks off "Take out the garbage" after throwing the entire trash can through the window ("'Garbage doesn't get more out than that!'"). She then "makes the bed" by making the bed into a giant ice cream sundae, to her brother's horror. As Sadie completes her list of mischief, her brother frets and worries. Hilarious illustrations with speech-bubble dialogue and highly expressive facial expressions will delight readers, as will the visual details tucked into many scenes. Exhausted from her afternoon of wickedness, Sadie falls asleep only to awaken to a heartwarming surprise twist that will tickle readers.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Sadie, to her dismay, has become the "good mouse" in the family. Her brother Reggie makes mischief and avoids chores with impunity--he even stashes dirty dishes among the sofa cushions--which "always meant more work for Sadie." Faced with yet another list of chores when their mother leaves the house, the little mouse snaps: eyes blazing, she declares she's going "to do them... BAD," and a spectacular rebellion erupts, chronicled with riotous clear-line cartooning. Sadie first hurls a garbage can through a plate-glass window ("Garbage doesn't get more out than that!"), then rains destruction on every other room. Wild and defiant--"I've never felt more alive!"--Sadie finally runs out of havoc to wreak and takes a nap. When she awakens, she discovers that Mom has returned home... to an immaculate house tidied by a thoroughly shaken Reggie. He doesn't promise to change, but the breach between siblings is repaired. The message, delivered by previous collaborators Kalan and Miller (Horse Meets Dog) in a style of humor reminiscent of Bob's Burgers, is clear: don't take advantage of another's good graces, and turnabout is fair play. Ages 4--8. (Apr.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3--Sibling rivalry gets a twist when mouse Sadie is completely fed up with being the "good mouse," doing all the chores while her brother Reggie loafs around and basically shirks all responsibility. When Mom hands her the chore list and leaves the house, Sadie completely cracks and goes on a destructive bender. To Reggie's shock and dismay, Sadie breaks windows, floods the kitchen, and paints the ceiling with mustard. When Sadie wakes up from her post-rage nap, the house is miraculously clean again. There's only one mouse who could have come to the rescue. Miller's bold illustrations in the style of an early reader's graphic novel gives the story punch. VERDICT A fun romp many children will relate to and educators will appreciate. One for the sibling shelves.--Jennifer Noonan
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Fed up with being good, a young rodent turns troublemaker. Sadie Mouse doesn't think it's fair that her brother, Reggie, gets away with shirking his chores and even making more messes for her to clean up. So after Mom hands the siblings a list of jobs before leaving for the day, Sadie puts a literal, Amelia Bedelia--esque spin on all their duties. Tasked with taking out the garbage, she flings it out a window ("Garbage doesn't get more out than that!"), and she makes the bed…into an ice cream sundae. Sadie glories in being naughty. Exhausted, she falls asleep, but when her mother returns, she's thrilled to see a clean house--turns out Reggie's decided to embrace his more responsible side. Most of the text is conveyed through dialogue presented in speech bubbles and featuring clever puns and wordplay ("You don't have a bad bone in your whole body." "Just watch. I've got a whole bad skeleton"). Miller's energetic, thick-lined cartoons brim with humor as Sadie turns the house upside down--a slice of pizza hangs from a clothesline; toilet paper litters the lawn. Though Reggie learns his lesson, the book never veers on preachy as it comes to a satisfying conclusion. A funny and messy how-to for doing chores the wrong way.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
