"This clever book will engage and amuse kids and their grownups—though perhaps not the faint of heart."
"Encouraging children to face their anxieties can be a fearsome endeavor; this may be just the ticket."
"Encouraging children to face their anxieties can be a fearsome endeavor; this may be just the ticket."
Neither condescending nor frightening nor falsely comforting, this gentle book approaches a serious subject with humor and compassion.
—The Washington Post
…the visuals are endlessly startling and fascinating. I keep running my hands along this book's pages, trying to find the boundaries of what Gravett has devised. The pamphlet folds out, but the feathers merely look real; only when you turn the page do you realize that the figure of the dog, composed from torn photographs of dogs and cats, fits into the shadow of the mouse on the next page. The book's message—that everyone is afraid of something—almost gets lost in the shuffle, but Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears still does a splendid job of re-enacting phobia: it's hard to look away.
—The New York Times
Dystychiphobia, phagophobia, good old acrophobia: everybody's afraid of something-although it does seem that Gravett's (Orange Pear Apple Bear) winsome mouse protagonist has cornered the market on anxieties. Wittily assuming the format of a scrapbook or diary that is filled in by Little Mouse, this book exhorts, "You too can overcome your fears through the use of art!" A virtually encyclopedic list of fears follows, each on its own page, with plenty of space allotted for Little Mouse's response. Gravett augments these expansive collaged spreads with interactive goodies (a flap, a gatefold, a tip-in of an entire map). For example, when Little Mouse scrawls, "I don't like being alone, or in the dark," readers will learn from glancing at the upper-right corner that this feeling is called "Isolophobia (Fear of solitude)." The opposite page is pitch-black, and Little Mouse eyes it nervously. Other moments are more purely amusing: "aichmophobia" (the fear of knives) ushers in references to "Three Blind Mice." Whether or not they choose to face their own fears, kids will feel that a chord has been struck-and they'll savor spicing up their budding vocabularies. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
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K-Gr 4
A tiny mouse and his gigantic fears collide in this humorous creation. This handbook dramatically states, "A fear faced is a fear defeated," and encourages the fainthearted to conquer their fright through writing, drawing, and collage. Spare text and delightful illustrations chronicle this nervous rodent's journey. From ablutophobia, the fear of bathing, to sciaphobia, the fear of shadows, the striking mixed-media art captures the humorous adventures of the white mouse and his red pencil. The pictures emphasize shadow and light, pitting the winsome rodent against some of the scariest and most exotic phobias. Unusual elements abound through a hodgepodge of folded maps and newspaper clippings; varied perspectives and dominant figures feature a cameo by the Three Blind Mice and a dramatic retelling of "Hickory Dickory Dock." With nuanced facial expressions, the mouse scurries through each textured spread against warm cream-colored backgrounds; his actualization reveals a delightful conclusion. Through one-on-one sharing or personal perusal, readers will clamor to relive this small hero's adventures.-Meg Smith, Cumberland County Public Library, Fayatteville, NC
Under the guise of a self-help book whose instructions are obediently followed by a mouse taking notes on the pages, Gravett takes readers on an intense exploration of fear. Each page features one phobia. Carrying a full-sized (not mouse-sized) pencil, Little Mouse confronts various angsts (clinophobia, fear of going to bed; ablutophobia, fear of bathing), some tweaked for mouse-relevance (aichmophobia becomes fear of knives, as a circus is cancelled due to an unfortunate incident with a farmer's wife). Most existential are whereamiophobia (fear of getting lost) and isolophobia (fear of solitude and, here, fear of the darkness of a solid-black page). Creative multimedia artwork with a frenetic vibe includes collage, foldouts (maps, newspapers), cutouts (nibbled page corners abound) and expressive and aptly wild pencil strokes. Myriad details-such as a receipt on the back cover listing the book's condition as "Poor, scribbled in, rodent damage"-reinforce the setup. Timorous Mouse doesn't vanquish the worries but does weather the dangers, revealing a tiny final smile at an unexpected turnabout. (Picture book. 3-7)
