Shadows: Little Mouse is afraid of those (sciaphobia).
In fact, Little Mouse is afraid of everything. Join her as she faces her fears and records them in her journal - and discovers that even the biggest people are afraid of some things.Young children will identify with the little mouse who documents his fears in the pages of this book - from loud noises and the dark to being sucked down the plughole. Packed with details and novelty elements including flaps, die-cuts and even a hilarious fold-out map, this is an extraordinary picture book. Ages 4 to 8.
Accolades
Winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal 2008.
Winner of Nestle Children's Book Prize: Age 6-8 (Bronze) 2007.
Review
"Dystychiphobia, phagophobia, good old acrophobia: everybody's afraid of something-although it does seem that Gravett's (Orange Pear Apple Bear) winsome mouse protagonist has cornered the market on anxieties. Wittily assuming the format of a scrapbook or diary that is filled in by Little Mouse, this book exhorts, "You too can overcome your fears through the use of art!" A virtually encyclopedic list of fears follows, each on its own page, with plenty of space allotted for Little Mouse's response. Gravett augments these expansive collaged spreads with interactive goodies (a flap, a gatefold, a tip-in of an entire map). For example, when Little Mouse scrawls, "I don't like being alone, or in the dark," readers will learn from glancing at the upper-right corner that this feeling is called "Isolophobia (Fear of solitude)." The opposite page is pitch-black, and Little Mouse eyes it nervously. Other moments are more purely amusing: "aichmophobia" (the fear of knives) ushers in references to "Three Blind Mice." Whether or not they choose to face their own fears, kids will feel that a chord has been struck-and they'll savor spicing up their budding vocabularies. Ages 4-8. (Sept." Publishers Weekly
"…the visuals are endlessly startling and fascinating. I keep running my hands along this book's pages, trying to find the boundaries of what Gravett has devised. The pamphlet folds out, but the feathers merely look real; only when you turn the page do you realize that the figure of the dog, composed from torn photographs of dogs and cats, fits into the shadow of the mouse on the next page. The book's message-that everyone is afraid of something-almost gets lost in the shuffle, but Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears still does a splendid job of re-enacting phobia: it's hard to look away." The New York Times
Author Biography
Emily Gravett's debut picture book Wolves won both the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Nestlé Children's Book Prize Bronze Award, establishing her reputation as an author/illustrator of unique talent and tremendous skill. She now has a host of award-winning and critically acclaimed books to her name, including: Orange Pear Apple Bear, Monkey and Me and The Odd Egg. Emily lives in Brighton with her partner, daughter and their very own dog, a saluki called Otto.