January 1, 2007
In her fifth graphic novel, Babymouse finds her confidence shaken by her school's impending Valentine's Day dance. Babymouse's desperation comes through loud and clear, as do the Holms' messages of self-respect and self-worth. The text and illustrations successfully differentiate between reality and daydreams, and there's a good amount of humor injected into both. Babymouse's decision to go stag leads to a real-life fairy-tale ending.
(Copyright 2007 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
Starred review from January 1, 2007
Romantic Babymouse, in her fifth graphic novel for younger readers, here finds her confidence shaken by the impending Valentine's Day dance at school. Our imaginative heroine still indulges in plenty of her trademark pink-hued fantasies (including a continuation of "Babymouserella" from the first book -- "I never...made it to the dance last time!"), but finding a date proves less than fairy tale-like. Waiting around to be asked doesn't work, and neither do pathetic attempts to ingratiate herself with various boys, so Babymouse turns to beauty magazines for advice: "This article guarantees I'll be 'unforgettable' to boys. I'll get asked to the dance in no time!" Babymouse's desperation comes through loud and clear, as do the Holms' valuable and never-too-early messages of self-respect and self-worth. As in the previous books, the text and illustrations successfully differentiate between reality and daydreams, and there's a good amount of humor injected into both (the banter between Babymouse and the disembodied narrator is especially entertaining). Finally, after a dark night of the soul, Babymouse decides to go stag -- "I can do that?" -- which, while not easy, leads to a satisfying real-life fairy-tale ending. The audience doesn't need to get the passing reference to Dirty Dancing to agree that "nobody puts Babymouse in the corner!"
(Copyright 2007 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)