Lindsay Barrett George is widely recognized for her striking illustrations of animals, birds, and fish in their habitats. She is the author-illustrator of Maggie"s Ball; Alfred Digs; The Secret; Inside Mouse, Outside Mouse; In the Garden: Who"s Been Here; and four other Who"s Been Here titles. Lindsay Barrett George lives in northeastern Pennsylvania with her dog, two cats, and a very handsome duck.
PreS-Gr 3-A narrator introduces readers to two mice: "Inside my house there is a mouse,/Outside my house there is a mouse." The inside mouse sleeps in an old-fashioned clock, while the outside mouse snuggles in a tree stump. Line by line, with side-by-side, full-page illustrations, the story unfolds, tracing each mouse's journey from its home to the window of the house, where the two meet face to face, one looking out and one looking in, and say "Hello." Gouache paintings in breathtaking colors create zoom-lens views of each of the not-so-different worlds of these two creatures. The pictures are packed with interesting details just waiting to be explored. The simple text, presented in a large typeface at the bottom of the pages, compares and contrasts the animals' environments and lifestyles. The overall effect is mesmerizing, and the intriguing parallels will capture readers' imaginations. This creative book makes a great choice for sharing aloud and for independent reading. It's also an excellent tool for teaching the concept of compare/contrast.-Wanda Meyers-Hines, Ridgecrest Elementary School, Huntsville, AL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
George (Around the World: Who's Been Here?) employs her always impressive talent for detail to marvelous effect in this story of two mice whose lives run on parallel tracks-one inside a house, the other outside-until they meet at a window. The unseen narrator, a resident of the house, chronicles the rodents' transit. George has great fun showing how the almost identical descriptions that appear opposite one another on the spreads can yield very different visual results. The gray-brown inside-mouse runs "below the spider"-a drab brown insect knitting a cobweb bridging two corners-"and over the ball," which is festooned with stars. The golden-brown outside-mouse runs "below the spider"-a startling yellow-and-red creature looming from a pink wildflower-"and over the stone" that's also impressively decorated, albeit by the forces of erosion. In one cheeky spread, the inside mouse runs behind a book on birds, while the outside mouse runs behind a handsomely feathered example of the real thing. On every page, George couples her eye for particulars (the warp and woof of animals' coats, the mosaic of objects that make up the vistas of natural and domestic life) with brilliant colors and a masterful sense of light. Readers will delight in the mice's curiosity and determination, savor the richness of their respective worlds, and eagerly speculate on whether their hard-won meeting is a first or regular occurrence. Ages 3-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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