Mr. Postmouse Takes a Trip

PreS-Gr 2—In this second book about the little mail carrier, Mr. Postmouse closes the post office and takes a vacation with his family, bringing a few parcels for delivery, because "a postmouse's rounds are never done!" From the first page, delighted readers will enter effortlessly into Mr. Postmouse's world of tiny cross-sections and effluvia. The first stop is the forest. Viewers look inside Aunt Claudette's tiny camper and a tent the Postmouse children are tidying for the night. But what is that in the corner? Tiny stories-within-the-story: Hansel and Gretel just arriving at the witch's house, a ladybug roasting an aphid, some rabbit scouts on a hike. Throughout, there are opportunities to name everyday items: key, acorns, a tiny blue car. For older readers, there's a "wanted" poster for a masked robin…could it be Robin Hood? The mice continue their travels to the beach, onto a cruise ship (check out the homage to Babar), to a tropical island (is that Richard Scarry's Huckle Cat peering from behind a bush?), to a desert oasis, and more. Dubuc's text consists of short, descriptive dialogue and sentences that move the family from place to place; the real tale is the one that readers will tell as they make connections among the details.