ALA Booklist (Wed May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

After A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse (2012), the intrepid young explorer is ready for another adventure, but is Mouse? This time they are in Italy to climb Mount Etna, an active volcano. It's a long a climb, and they need some very specific gear (boots! gloves! walking sticks!), but on their way they see orchards and forests before they hit snow, then rocks, steam, and even lava. The trip down is much less dangerous, and they spot reptiles, birds, and other animals as they return to civilization. But there's one thing Mouse wants to see more than anything on this journey, and that's pizza. Graphic designer and illustrator Viva brings his signature style to his latest comic for young readers. Bold, simple shapes and a limited color palette leave the pages vibrantly full but sharp and uncluttered. Mouse is highly expressive, and young readers will share Mouse's trepidation over all the dangerous things they encounter during the journey. The best part? Mouse's reward for a job well done.

Kirkus Reviews

What would it be like to climb a volcano?Mouse is back, and this time, instead of journeying down to Antarctica, (A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse, 2012), he and his human companion are traveling up to the top of a volcano. Inspired by Viva's experience climbing Mount Etna and framed as a conversation between a curious, knowledgeable child and an impatient, childlike, pizza-loving mouse, this graphic early reader is replete with gentle humor and memorable images. Beginning with an explanation of some necessary objects a volcano explorer would need, this cheerful selection continues on to provide some basic facts about volcanoes, including plants, trees, and animals that can grow and live along the exterior; some of the sights one might see on a climb; and the characteristics and anatomy of the volcano within. Clear, relatively simple language paired with striking and amusing graphics will draw emerging readers in while well-chosen scientific details provide an appealing introduction to earth science and the world of volcanoes. Add to those draws an entertaining character—if Mouse is lucky, the outing might include both pepperoni pizza and an extra climb up the volcano—and you have a recipe for an enjoyable reading expedition in a very approachable format.An engaging blend of fiction and nonfiction and a nice choice for reluctant readers. (Graphic informational easy reader. 4-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In this follow-up to A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse, a young explorer and his impatient rodent friend hike up Sicily-s Mt. Etna. Mouse has one thing on his mind-pizza-but the hiker fulfills his mission to reach the top, relaying some highlights of volcanology along the way. (A cutaway illustration midway through the book offers a helpful visual summation of things growing on the slope and within the cone.) Mouse enthusiastically, sometimes fearfully, lists things the duo encounters while ascending dramatic landscape (-Steam! Black Rock! Deep Vents! Lava!-), while the descent finds him in a tizzy about numerous predators lurking at the lower slope (-Snakes, eeeek!-). But after gaining his pizza reward-a large, with pepperoni-he-s ready to go again. Fiery reds and oranges appropriately dominate the crisply drawn artwork, and plenty of expressive type and dialogue balloons will hold readers- attention. Framing by Viva is unfussy but effective, from the quarter panels used to convey nuggets of information to the spreads that open up the landscape and make every inch of the book-s long horizontal format count. Ages 3-up. (May)