Mouse!

Mouse is wrestling with an identity crisis. He’s always comparing himself with others, and sees himself as inferior. He dreams of being another animal: Cow can sleep standing up, Pig can eat and eat, Goose journeys far and wide, and Rooster bosses everyone around. Mouse wishes he could do the same, but the other animals teach him that their lives also have their drawbacks: Cow is pestered by flies, Pig is being fattened for slaughter, Goose is fed up with all that flying and Rooster has to get up early every morning.

‘Hmm, then I’d rather be Mouse,’ Mouse thinks every time. At the end of his journey of discovery, he realises that there’s only one animal he really wants to be: Mouse.

Kaat Vrancken’s text constantly plays around with rhyme and rhythm. This experimental approach to sound makes the book a pleasure to read aloud. Like the words, An Candaele’s colourful illustrations are also bursting with energy and humour.  ‘Mouse!’ has the potential to appeal to infants as well as slightly older children.