The Green-eyed Mouse and the Blue-eyed Mouse

by Bob Gill

Overview

A green-eyed mouse called Noah and a blue-eyed mouse called Raffaella see each other's eyes through a small hole in a wall. Both mice let their imagination run wild thinking what strange creature the eye belongs to. Beautifully illustrated, humorously written and brilliantly designed with a real hole in each of its pages to create a peep-show effect, this charming book is a visual treat for children and their parents.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780714848877
Publisher:	Phaidon Press
Publication date:	11/03/2010
Pages:	28
Product dimensions:	10.40(w) x 6.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

After working as a freelance illustrator and designer in New York, Bob Gill (b.1931) moved to London in 1960, where he joined Alan Fletcher and Colin Forbes to create a design agency that became the precursor of Pentagram. He resumed his freelance career as an illustrator, designer, teacher, film-maker and author of children's books in 1967, and returned to New York in 1975. His clients include Pirelli, Universal Pictures, Nestlé and the United Nations, and he has written a number of books on graphic design.

Editorial Reviews

In this squat, spare picture book about two mice learning to trust each other, which Gill (What Colour Is Your World?) created in the 1960s but is only being widely published now, Noah (the green-eyed mouse) and Rafaella (the blue-eyed mouse) spy each other--well, each other's eyes--through a die-cut hole in the pages. Gill builds suspense through the mice's exchanges ("Who are you?" "Who are you?" "I'll tell you if you'll tell me first." "Why should I tell you first?") as each supposes the other to be various threats. "Rafaella had never seen a green eye before and she imagined it belonged to a child catcher, or a traffic warden." Arch asides provide more laughs: "Finally Rafaella realized that unless she did something soon, this book would not have a happy ending." Gill's b&w line drawings are reminiscent of Thurber drawings, and the dashed-off look may not have wide appeal. This reductive approach, though, keeps the focus on the mice's fears and their need to make a leap of faith, making them all the easier to identify with. Ages 3–6. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly