Mouse Count

Rating:
Summary: very good; but "Mouse Paint" still beats this
Review: As a preschool teacher I like this book.
Far from the snake's description of the imprisioned mice making it inappropariate for children: it is a good moral lesson! Don't be greedy! It is also not a problem because mice are on earth to be food for the snakes and the preditors are not "bad" animals; there are just fulfilling their role in the ecology.
I don't like it as much as "Mouse Paint" but it is a fine counting book.

Rating:
Summary: disappointed in this children's book
Review: Having heard several times that this book and its companion, Mouse Paint, were clever and fun reads for children, we got this book, but I was pretty disappointed. While the artwork is charming, the premise of the story is that sleeping mice are being stored in a jar to be eaten later by a snake. Like another reviewer, when reading aloud I skip the snake repeatedly describing them as "little, warm and tasty". The idea of the mice cleverly escaping and then counting down as they escape is good, but I don't find that the "counting up" is particularly well done, so that children don't necessarily develop a better understanding of counting or numbers. To be honest, our toddler likes the book, so I've given it three stars, but IMHO there are much better books for children out there.

Rating:
Summary: fun book with counting and moral
Review: My three year old son loves this book even more than Mouse Paint. Despite previous reviewers' concerns about the mice being described as "little warm and tasty," this part makes my son laugh the most. He loves counting backwards, tipping side to side to mimic the mice as they tip the jar, and repeats the moral to the story on a regular basis.