School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-Sophie is a young anthropomorphized mouse who lives in Silverlake Forest with her family. Sophie's mother is a baker, her father is an architect, and their forest boasts a school, post office, library, and bakery. In Sophie's world, all young forest animals attend school together and are taught by Mrs. Wise, a squirrel. On the first day of class, a new student arrives: a snake named Owen. Out of fear, the other animals exclude him from their games. Sophie feels bad for Owen, but can't conquer her own fear enough to befriend him. It takes an accident and a save by Owen to open Sophie's eyes. If readers ignore the reality that many snakes do indeed eat mice, the lessons Sophie and her friends learn about the danger of being judgmental and about the importance of friendship are good ones. Bell's sketch artwork has a whimsical quality-Sophie is seen in a dress and leggings with a dainty bow on her tail. All animals are roughly the same size, and while not realistic, this makes the classroom feel comfortable (no one is towering over the mice). A gentle read for early chapter book readers who love animals.-Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
In these chapter books, Sophie Mouse and best friend Hattie Frog experience gentle adventures in their woodland habitat. The two learn to give a new classmate a chance (Friend) and to not trust rumors (Berries). Friendly black-and-white drawings depict all of the animal characters as roughly the same size. The purposeful stories are mildly diverting. [Review covers these Adventures of Sophie Mouse titles: The Emerald Berries and A New Friend.] (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
