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Summary
Summary
Two clever mice try a balancing act but are interrupted by friends who want to play too in this delightful Classic Board Book that's "just the right size for small hands and sharing one-on-one" ( Booklist ).
Two mice make a teeter-totter. They're balancing just fine, but then along comes a frog. Can they make room for one more friend on their teeter-totter? What about two? What about more? But then a big bird comes along and wants to play too. Better watch out!
This sturdy Classic Board Book edition is perfect for balancing between little hands.
Author Notes
Ellen Stoll Walsh has written and illustrated numerous beloved books for children, including Balancing Act and the bestselling modern classics Mouse Paint and Mouse Count . She lives in upstate New York.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Toddler-PreS-A pair of mice having fun on a makeshift seesaw (sticks balanced on a stone) are joined by several other animals-a salamander, a frog, and more-throwing off their game. The cut-paper collage animals are charmingly childlike, and the acrylic splatter adds texture. Walsh makes adroit use of the gutter, placing the fulcrum of the seesaw in the center of the page and depicting the animals changing positions as the teeter-totter precariously rises and lowers. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
With characteristic simplicity and charm, Stoll (Mouse Shapes) introduces two mice who fashion a teeter-totter by balancing a tree branch on a rock. Poised on each end-and playfully standing on one foot-the friends are in perfect equilibrium ("Ta-da!"), until a salamander climbs on. Another salamander on the opposite end solves the problem: "Perfect. Balance again." But the scenario repeats as a pair of frogs leap onto the branch; a large speckled bird then flies in and dramatically upsets everything once again. "Whoops! That's not going to work!" reads the text as the bird comically squashes several of the players. Thinking fast, the smaller creatures reassemble on the other side of the branch, offsetting the weight of the bird. When "too many balancers" snap the seesaw in two, the others wander off, but the mice rebuild and begin teeter-tottering all over again. Walsh's familiar cut-paper critters pop from the white background. Even the minimalist text of this cumulative tale often shifts in and out of balance with the action while sending an upbeat message about ingenuity and cooperation. Ages 2-6. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Two mice find a stick and, with a large rock serving as fulcrum, make a teeter-totter. With one mouse on each end, it balances perfectly. "Ta-da!" But along comes a salamander, which throws the balance off until another salamander hops on the other end. "Perfect. Balance again." The mice handle the arrival of two frogs in the same way, but then a large bird wants in on the fun, and there's chaos until the six smaller animals move to the other side. Once again, balance is achieved. But the combined weight proves too much for the slender stick, and off go the friends to find more fun -- except the mice, who make another teeter-totter, this one just big enough for two. "Ta-da!" With consummate skill, Walsh (Mouse Paint, rev. 7/89) tells a taut and dynamic story while introducing some basic physical science to preschoolers. Her signature cut-and-torn-paper collages set against expanses of white space are themselves an impressive balance of composition, color (especially that spectacularly speckled bird), and narrative content; the spreads alternate between displays of potential energy (when the teeter-totter is balanced) and kinetic energy (when the animals go sprawling, entertainingly). A lively yet minimal text supports the story beautifully; there's not a word out of place. martha v. parravano (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
(Picture book. 2-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The concept of balance is gently introduced by Walsh's collage mice, reminiscent of Leo Lionni's, who build and play on a teeter-totter made out of a stick and a rock. The game attracts more and more animals, the teeter-totter seesawing up and down with each new arrival, until it collapses beneath the weight. Small in format like her earlier Mouse Paint (1985) and Mouse Count (1991), this is just the right size for small hands and for sharing one-on-one and also offers an opportunity to talk about the different elements of the story, including cooperation, creativity, and sharing as well as basic physics and math. The clean layout featuring a white background; large, black typeface; and colorful animals allows young readers to focus on what's happening, and the neat story ends satisfyingly where it began, with just two mice left, free to play with each other and their stick and rock once again.--Foote, Diane Copyright 2010 Booklist