Product Description

From horse to crocodile to giraffe, no one wants to be the little mouse's friend, until he meets up with a friendly, familiar face--and not a moment too soon! Full color.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7106 in Books
• Published on: 1988-09-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 28 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780399215988
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Mice, a rottweiler, an arachnid and a few other assorted critters make sturdy reappearances in five board book versions of picture books. In Ellen Stoll Walsh's Mouse Paint, "three white mice on a white piece of paper" enjoy a colorful romp, while in Walsh's Mouse Count a similar gaggle narrowly escapes being served for dinner (Harcourt/Red Wagon, $6 each, 28p, ages 1-3 ISBN 0-15-200265-0; -200266-9 Sept.). Yet another mouse searches the animal kingdom for companionship-and finds an unexpected respondent-in Eric Carle's Do You Want to Be My Friend? (HarperFestival, $6.95, 32p, ages 2-6, ISBN 0-694-00709-9 Sept.). The rewards of industriousness are celebrated in a second Carle title, The Very Busy Spider; its embossed web brings a tactile dimension to his familiar collage artwork (Philomel, $9.95, 26p, ages 2-up ISBN 0-399-22919-1 Aug.). Finally, the canine in question is Alexandra Day's beloved Carl, who takes charge of a crew of toddlers in Carl Goes to Day Care (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $5.95, ages 1-3 ISBN 0-374-31145-5 Sept.).
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Each page of this ingenious, all but wordless picture book affords surprise, suspense, and repeated pleasure for the viewer." -- --ALA Booklist

About the Author
Eric Carle is a virtuoso of picture books for young children, known especially for The Grouchy Ladybug, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, From Head to Toe, Do You Want to Be My Friend?, The Secret Birthday Message, The Mixed Up Chameleon, Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? and many others.Mr. Carle lives with his wife in Northampton, MA.

Eric Carle comenta acerca de este libro: "Así como los libros sobre el abecedario presentan las letras y las palabras sencillas a los niños pequeños, De la cabeza a los pies les enseña, a través de un rítmico juego de preguntas y respuestas, las partes básicas del cuerpo y sencillos movirnientos corporales".

"Y de la misma manera que un niñio progresa desde la comprensión de palabras sencillas hasta la lectura y la escritura de palabras más complejas, oraciones y cuentos, irá desde ejecutar sencillos movirnientos corporales hasta bailar, hacer ejercicios, gimnástica y participar con confianza y placer en deportes y otras actividades".

Customer Reviews

Not a book about friendship or tolerance.
Agree w/ a prior reviewer - this book was VERY disappointing. I was horrified to hear it read, for the first time, by a 'teacher' (who obligingly filled in the dialogue for the non-mouse animals, to say to the mouse: "No I don't want to be your friend. . . your too little (or whatever)."
I think it can be read w/ a more positive spin, e.g., "I'd love to be your friend, but I can't play right now. . . " But the illustrations really convey a negative message to kids, and on its face is about being friends w/ your own kind, since it's only the mouse at the end who says "Yes." Not what I want to teach to my children. This book apparently was written in the 70's. It's way out of date, and I wouldn't buy it. Other Carle books have the same type of animal illustrations, so it's nothing special in that regard either.

Is it just me....?
or was anyone else confused by this book? Now don't get me wrong I don't expect War and Peace in a children's book, but a little more dialogue would have been nice. As it is, there are 2 possible conclusions I can draw from this book:

1. The mouse is asking each animal to be his friend and they are all saying 'No', which makes them all very mean and not worth talking about or,
2. The mouse is only asking the other mouse at the end of the book, ignoring all the other animals completely.

Either way, here is the message I walk away with: Mice should only be friends with other mice (people should only be friends with their own kind). Is this what we want to teach our children?

A Friendly Book for Young Minds!
As always, Eric Carle's books are well illustrated. This book presents illustrations that draw in any young reader to the adventure. The text is simple and understandable to the young mind. The story line serves as a useful tool to discuss issues of "same and different" with your child. However, it is not of the same caliber as Carle's other books such as the Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear...

I recommend this book as part of any child's library, but if your finances are limited, purchase the other two books mentioned.