Great Big Things

by Kate Hoefler, Noah Klocek (Illustrator)

Overview

Chronicling the quiet heroism of one small mouse on an arduous journey to bring another mouse the smallest of gifts, Great Big Things serves as a reminder that it’s not our size but what we’re doing in this world that makes us small or big: it’s what makes a teeny mouse as big as a mountain, what makes his gesture after a long journey as big and as consequential as the moon.  
 
Following her debut, Real Cowboys, Kate Hoefler's poetic story of perseverance and friendship is brought to life by Noah Klocek's breathtaking expansive landscapes that celebrate the natural beauty of the world and the bonds that connect us all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544774773
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/10/2017
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	11.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD420L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Kate Hoefler received her MFA in Poetry from the University of Michigan, where she studied as a Colby fellow. She has taught writing courses at the University of Michigan, as well as at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Noah Klocek's experience includes advertising design and art direction; as well as matte painting, visual development, art direction, and production design for studios such as Industrial Light & Magic, PDI/DreamWorks, and Pixar Animation Studios where he worked on films Brave, Up, WALL-E, and Inside Out. Recently Noah has branched out into picture books with his first book CLOUD COUNTRY that came out in 2015.

Editorial Reviews

"Single lines of large-print text name the sights, moving the brave mouse to its destination with a breathless and greatly admiring and encouraging tone. But those big things seem small because it's all about the love and commitment that make the dangers and difficulties worthwhile.  A gentle, sweet read-aloud . . . " —Kirkus "The message about devotion and perseverance, however, is a “great big thing” and will provide an effective basis for further discussion." — Booklist —

From the Publisher

2017-08-21
The huge world can be overwhelming to a tiny mouse unless it is determined to fulfill a quest. Readers have no idea what that quest is until the very end as they follow the mouse through vast global locations, sometimes not seeing it at all, sometimes catching a glimpse in a corner or among rocks or in the sea, or on an old-style steam locomotive, or perhaps on a jet flying overhead, and always carrying and carefully protecting a large crumb. Under star-filled night skies, through sunrises and sunsets, the mouse travels over all manner of Earth's landforms and waters. Klocek's graphite-and-digital illustrations are stunning in their scope and visual impact. Double-page spreads of deep canyons, endless deserts, rivers and waterfalls, forests and oceans, and ice fields beautifully capture the mouse's challenging journey. A few, very faint, vaguely drawn map details with a red line indicating the mouse's progress occasionally appear; as there is not always enough detail to read them, readers may find them more distracting than illuminating. Single lines of large-print text name the sights, moving the brave mouse to its destination with a breathless and greatly admiring and encouraging tone. But those big things seem small because it's all about the love and commitment that make the dangers and difficulties worthwhile. A gentle, sweet read-aloud that will need grown-ups to help very young readers grasp the philosophical concepts. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews