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40 pp.
| Candlewick |
March, 2020 |
TradeISBN 978-1-5362-0492-6$16.99
(2)
PS
Two mouse sisters discover, in a springtime meadow, a seemingly orphaned egg. They decide to adopt it. First they sit on it, waiting for it to hatch. Then they decide to take it home. Older sister Hazel, however, has a change of heart when she realizes that the egg might have its own nest, and their mission changes to identifying the egg in order to reunite it with its family. Duck parents with one chick arrive to claim it, the egg hatches, and all four youngsters have fun playing together. It's a small plot, the perfect size for mice (and preschoolers through early-elementary age). Its charm lies in the scratchy pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations in pastel shades and in the quiet, droll humor of the text. (The girls classify the other eggs they compare to theirs as "smallest, quite tiny, less tiny, but still tiny," etc.) Readers of the first Hazel and Twig book (Hazel and Twig: The Birthday Fortune, rev. 7/18) will know that the mouse sisters are Korean, but the only hint in this less culturally specific story are parents called Umma and Appa. With this second adventure under their quite-tiny belts, Hazel and Twig seem poised to join Chirri and Chirra (Chirri & Chirra, rev. 1/17, and sequels), and the Mole Sisters (The Mole Sisters and the Cool Breeze, and sequels) before them, as memorable sister duos.
Reviewer: Sarah Ellis
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2020