School Library Journal (Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2006)

Gr 1-3 Babymouses family spends summer vacation at the beach. During boring or difficult times, the young mouse uses her imagination to take her to far more interesting and exciting places. Her younger brother wants to play with her, but, like most big sisters, Babymouse wants nothing to do with him. When he runs away, she realizes how important he is to her, and how much fun they can have. The story moves quickly, and readers are sure to notice that whenever Babymouse has trouble with a character, it is illustrated as a cat. The black-and-white cartoons are highlighted with splashes of pink that become darker when the action intensifies. This book will be popular with young graphic novel fans as well as devotees of the genre in general, especially reluctant readers. Ronnie Gordon, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

ALA Booklist (Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2006)

If Ian Falconer's pig Olivia grew a few years and turned into a mouse, she would be Babymouse. In this third hyperkinetic, pink-washed adventure, as frolicsome and breathlessly paced as the previous two, the squiggly whiskered heroine heads for a family summer on the beach. Packed with the energy of 100 kids, she launches a catastrophic surfing career and tries to keep little brother Squeak out of her fur. Adventurous and refusing to stick to gender-stereotyped pursuits, Babymouse is on the lookout for a partner to share her flights of fancy. A slight penchant for selfishness notwithstanding, before the summer is through, she realizes that the perfect playmate has been sitting right under her pink nose all along. Both story and art take full advantage of the lively possibilities of Babymouse turned loose from school (where teachers educate via the blah blah blah method) to explore the larger world with an imagination run wild.

Horn Book (Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2006)

When Beany's best friend temporarily defects to the flashy new girl in school, Beany is stuck with class "meany" Kevin as her science-fair partner. Beany has a couple of "very, very, very bad" days, but in tiny increments Kevin's anti-girl, aggressive veneer begins to crack. As in previous books, Beany is a believable, sympathetic character, and this series entry is accessible, funny, and true-to-life.

Kirkus Reviews

The little mouse with the big personality skips through a third set of mini trials and triumphs, presented in two-color graphic novel-style panels. Having daydreamed her way through the last day of school ("Good-bye, dumb fractions!") and even cleaned out her locker, Babymouse bounds eagerly into the car for a getaway to the beach. But what with crowds, surfboard wipeouts, sunburn, the odd shark and trying to keep adoring little sibling Squeak at arm's length (which isn't quite far enough to avoid the fallout, so to speak, of occasional bouts of motion sickness), the vacation starts to look like a big fizzle: "Typical!" to quote Babymouse's watchword. Pairing short bits of text in a "hand-lettered" font to small but clear scenes drawn with dark lines and pink highlights, the authors tell a quick, funny tale that ends on a warm note, with Babymouse discovering that wipeouts are more fun when shared with her biggest little fan. Emergent readers will cheer "Babymouse!" right along with Squeak. (Graphic novel. 6-8)