When it comes to language learning, English has a reputation for being tricky. The wide variety of complex rules, along with their many exceptions and inconsistencies, can cause significant frustration for both children and adult learners.
Long Island native Joseph L. Licari hopes to make the learning process a bit easier with his first children's book, Mia's Mouses. This picture book follows a young girl named Mia as she spends the day playing outside. Along the way, she encounters a group of friendly, talking mice -- or as Mia incorrectly calls them, "mouses."
They gently work to give Mia advice about plural nouns, which opens up a whole world of questions for the young girl. She takes her confusion to school, and with a little help from her teacher, Miss Jess, Mia finally gets the hang of it. In the end, Mia eagerly shares her new skills with her mouse friends. The easy-to-read story is supported by bright, colorful illustrations by Victor Nieto. Each character's personality shines through with unique outfits and expressive faces.
This book's success comes from its simple rhyming style. It helps build on kids' existing reading comprehension while helping to cement plural rules (dogs and frogs, houses and blouses). It also goes beyond the word "mice" to introduce other plural nouns with special rules, including "fish," "people," "men" and "children," among others.
Mia's Mouses is a fine resource on its own, but it's even more useful when paired with the companion Mia's Mouses Workbook and Coloring Book. The 40-page addition includes line-art versions of some of the book's illustrations, along with key passages from the story. Word searches and crossword puzzles of various sizes are interspersed throughout the coloring book along with basic grammar exercises. Most of the coloring pages are single-sided, so you can easily tear out and display your little one's hard work. One small detraction: there are no perforations, so be careful.
All told, this story and workbook are a fun way to subtly reinforce what early readers are learning at school without the feeling of doing homework. Even younger children who aren't reading yet can get involved by coloring while an older sibling or friend does a puzzle.
Mia's Mouses received the 2024 Pencraft Seasonal Book Award for Children in the K through 3rd Grade General category and is a Readers' Choice Book Award Finalist. Joseph Licari deserves praise for the deep forethought that went into creating the book and workbook duo. As a former business owner and current music teacher, Licari mentors people of all ages and is focused on helping them to truly enjoy their learning experience. He is a member of the Smithtown Library Writers Group and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.