Reviews

K-Gr 3-- A classy, classic Lionni mouse fable with themes like those in Frederick (1967) or Geraldine, the Music Mouse (1979, both Pantheon). Here, too, the joy, exuberance, and service of an artist's calling are made clear to the very young. A poor mouse couple lives in a dusty attic where they have great hopes for their only child. When they ask Matthew what he wants to be, however, he is uncertain--until the day his class goes on a field trip to the art museum. The paintings make a profound impression on him, and they clarify his vocation; he is to be an artist. In one memorable turn of a page readers see just what the tiny dreamer has seen, as Matthew's imagination transforms the dreary junk of his attic corner into a Picasso-like work of art. Both the torn paper collages and the reproductions of museum `` mouse terpieces'' in various painting styles invite children to look and look again. A strong, fine book by an illustrator who, like Matthew, paints canvases ``filled with the shapes and colors of joy.'' --Anna Biagioni Hart, Sherwood Regional Library, Alexandria, VA