Babymouse Puppy Love - Fantasy

Bibliography:

Holm, Jennifer L. and Matthew Holm. 2007. BABYMOUSE PUPPY LOVE. New York: Random House. 978-0-375-83990-0.

Plot Summary:

Babymouse is an animal loving, rambunctious and imaginative little mouse.  She unfortunately has a problem keeping her goldfish alive!  As she and her mom go to the pet store to get her 6^th goldfish she talks her Mom into letting her have an animal that is a little less boring and one she can hold, and she goes home with Hammie the Hamster.  Babymouse doesn’t have all of her attention on Hammie and Hammie and he gets out of his cage and is lost.  As the story progresses Babymouse thinks of all different types of animals she could have and her mom lets her have some of them but it’s up to Babymouse to keep them from getting out and lost!  You discover that what Babymouse really wants is a dog, does she get one and can she keep from losing it?   

Critical Analysis:

Even though Babymouse is a mouse she has many characteristics that are similar to a humans’ and many of her mannerisms are similar to a child’s.  Many children get incredibly excited at the thought of having their own pet to care for, Babymouse is this way and her facial expressions show that excitement.  She gets frustrated and upset when she loses her pets just the way a child would.  Babymouses mom behaves in a way that many parents would too by lecturing her on how she could lose her animal but giving it another try to help build her confidence as a caregiver.  The simple yet realistic illustrations in Babymouse show these human and childlike characteristics which help a child identify with Babymouse.

How many children have had to flush a goldfish down the toilet?  Probably quite a few, this is a main storyline in Babymouse Puppy Love and one that children will understand.  The plot is logical; she loses one pet and would like to replace it with another.  Babymouse wants to prove she is responsible and can care for animals, very similar to how a child of a certain age would feel.

 I love how a narrator type character pops up throughout the book.  When Babymouse decides she wants to get a hamster the narrator jumps in and asks, “Do you know anything about hamsters, Babymouse?” and Babymouse actually answers the questions looking very pleased with herself by saying, “I got a book!”  It’s a very unique way to write a book and very engaging for the person reading it.

Review Excerpts and Awards:

“The text and illustrations successfully differentiate between reality and daydreams, and there’s a good amount of humor injected into both.” – The Horn Book magazine, starred

“Ruff, ruff!  Four paws up!” – The Canine Courier

Connections:

• The Babymouse series is perfect for pre-teens, Babymouse Puppy Love is a great book to read aloud and discuss different types of animals since so many are mentioned in this book.  Make a poster of all the different animals that live amongst the students in the classroom and discuss them, their needs and how to care for them. 

• In Babymouse Puppy Love there is a daydream where Babymouse is part of another well known book, Charlotte’s Web; this is a great way to segue into reading this book aloud.  She also daydreams of being in a circus and riding a horse on the open range so a teacher or librarian could look for another book dealing with either of these ideas to keep the theme going.