LSSL 5360 Module 6 book review #4 BABYMOUSE: MONSTER MASH by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm

Module 6 book review #4 Babymouse: Monster Mash by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Holm, J. L., & Holm, M. (2008). Babymouse: Monster Mash (#9). New York, NY: Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-93789-7

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

The only thing scarier than a zombie mouse may be Felicia Furrypaws and her mean group of friends. This spooky Halloween night, join along as Babymouse faces pressure from mean girls to drop the scary costume and dress up as something girly and pretty.  While trick-or-treating, they continue to pressure Babymouse to make bad decisions around the neighborhood.

Replacing the typical pink with festive Halloween orange, the Holms do not disappoint with another fun graphic fiction novel in the Babymouse series.

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS

When Babymouse decides she wants to be something scary for Halloween, she really feels the pressure from her “mean girl” peers to dress as something pretty. Although Babymouse doesn’t want to follow their rules, she doesn’t really know how to say no. Peer pressure is such an important and relevant lesson for the young audience who will be reading this book, and Babymouse brings this issue to the forefront here. Throughout the book, Babymouse continues to feel the pressure from Felicia Furrypaws and her group of mean-girl friends, but in the end, we find our heroine with a renewed sense of self and courage. This bravery to turn the mean girls away from her Halloween party is exactly the type of encouragement that our target audience of readers will need.

I really enjoyed the format of this graphic novel as it reads like a comic book with cartoon sketches as the illustrations. I also found Babymouse’s conscience to be a funny twist on traditional narration, always there questioning her or sharing thoughts with Babymouse as she faces conflict after conflict on Halloween night. In the end, we see Babymouse make better decisions and stand for what she knows in her heart to be right. We learn that even after losing ourselves or our values, we can get back on track and it’s never too late to right the wrongs in our lives.

4.  REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

"Cute, smart, sassy Babymouse is fun and funny, and this book, like its predecessors, will draw reluctant readers as well as Babymouse fans." –Booklist Review

"Nobody puts Babymouse in the corner!" - Starred Review, The Horn Book

5. CONNECTIONS

*graphic fiction ages 8-12
*super fun for Halloween
*great for young kids and read-alouds with fun voices!
*great conversation starter when dealing with elementary school conflict/friendships

*Other books in the Babymouse series, also written by the Holm siblings:
-Queen of the World! (2005)
-Babymouse: The Musical (2009)
-A Very Babymouse Christmas (2011)
-Babymouse for President (2012)
-Happy Birthday, Babymouse (2014)
-Babymouse Goes for the Gold (2016)