Bibliography
Holm, Jennifer L. and Matthew Holm. BABYMOUSE: QUEEN OF THE
WORLD! Random House, 2005. ISBN 0375832297.
Plot Summary
In BABYMOUSE: QUEEN OF THE WORLD!, Babymouse dreams about
being Queen of the World, but her everyday life as middle schooler is less than
glamorous. One day, Babymouse overhears the “real queen” Felicia Furrypaws tell
her friends that she is having a sleepover and now Babymouse want to be
invited. To get an invitation to the sleepover, Babymouse gives her book report
to Felicia since Felicia forgot to bring hers to school.
Babymouse gets her
invite and goes to the sleepover, but remembers that she agreed to watch a
movie with her best friend Wilson. Babymouse hopes Wilson will forgive her and
goes to the sleepover, where she gets bored and lets her imagination get her
into hilarious trouble. Babymouse quickly gets fed up with the boring sleepover
and the Felicia’s attitude and leaves the party. She finds herself at Wilson’s,
where she realizes her life isn’t boring and the glamorous things she thought
she wanted were not what she needed after all.
Critical
Analysis
In this first graphic novel in the BABYMOUSE series, the
sassy and imaginative main character, Babymouse, is relatable and funny. Even
though she is a mouse, many middle school students should be able to connect to
her desire to fit in, while enjoying Babymouse’s daydream adventures. A quick
read, the plot is believable and logical. Babymouse tries to find her place
socially (which includes the typical angst and envy found in adolescence), and
yet learns that good friends are more important than being popular.
One of the
themes for this story includes learning that good friends are important and the
things we think we want are not always what we need. These are common themes
that young readers should identify with and understand. The lively text of
Jennifer L. Holm and the graphics by Matthew Holm fit together perfectly to
create a graphic novel full of humor and energy. The language is appropriate to
the characters and young readers.
The wild imaginings of Babymouse, such as her daydream of being Babymouserella, are very entertaining and reminiscent of the adventures of the comic strip "Calvin & Hobbes." This is the first book in the BABYMOUSE
series and after reading QUEEN OF THE WORLD!, readers will want to gobble up
the 13 other books in the series.
Review
Excerpt(s)
2006 ALA Notable Children's Book winner
2006 Gryphon Award winner
From Kirkus Reviews
"Emergent readers will cheer 'Babymouse!'"
From Booklist
“The Holms spruce up some well-trod ground with breathless
pacing and clever flights of Babymouse's imagination, and their manic,
pink-toned illustrations of Babymouse and her cohorts vigorously reflect the
internal life of any million-ideas-a-minute middle-school student.” Jesse Karp
Book Connections
Novels by Jennifer L.
Holm:
TURTLE IN PARADISE, ISBN 037583690X.
PENNY FROM
HEAVEN, ISBN 0375836896.
OUR ONLY MAY
AMELIA, ISBN 0064408566.
Other books in the BABYMOUSE series:
BABYMOUSE #2: OUR HERO, ISBN 0375832300.
BABYMOUSE #3: BEACH BABE, ISBN 0375832319.
BABYMOUSE #4: ROCKSTAR, ISBN 0375832327.
Other graphic novels by
Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm:
SQUISH #1: SUPER AMOEBA, ISBN 0375843892
SQUISH #2: BRAVE NEW POND, ISBN 0375843906
SQUISH #3: THE POWER OF THE PARASITE, ISBN 0375843914
Activities for BABYMOUSE:
QUEEN OF THE WORLD!:
- Use the BABYMOUSE graphic novels to entice and provide support to reluctant and struggling readers.
- With a document camera, project the illustrations from BABYMOUSE without the text showing and ask students to create the text for each panel. Then have student compare their responses with the original text.
- Have students plan and create their own graphic novel.
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