Space Mice!

What child hasn’t heard that the moon is made out of cheese? Today’s book takes this fun idea and spins a tale about two resourceful cheese lovers.

SPACE MICE

By Lori Haskins Houran (author) and Priscilla Alpaugh
Albert Whitman 2020
Picture book for ages 4-7
Themes: space travel, resourcefulness, mice
Setting: the moon

The story begins…

Two hungry mice.
Rumble. Rumble.

Not enough cheese.
Grumble. Grumble.

When these hungry mice look at the moon, they know they must find a way to get there. These aren’t just any mice – they are talented and creative mice. They draw plans, get supplies from the hardware store, and build a rocket. Finally, after filling their tummies, they return to earth bringing a supply of cheese with them. A child astronomer is surprised to see just a sliver of moon in the sky that night.

Why you should add SPACE MICE to your book collection:

• The jaunty text captures the mice’s adventures in concise rhyme that is meant to be read aloud.
• The process of planning and executing a space journey is fun and informative.
• Rockets!
• The expressions on the faces of the mice show a range of emotions with a great humor.

Illustrator Priscilla Alpaugh was kind enough to share some of her thoughts on creating the art for SPACE MICE. She has been an artist all of her life but didn’t become a full-time illustrator until 2015. She says that it was a blast creating the two clever mice and figuring out what their rocket ship would look like. The art was created both traditionally and digitally. Pencil line with watercolor was scanned into the computer and then drawn and painted digitally from there. The art took six months to complete.

(cover art process)

It turned out that both Pricilla and author Lori Haskins Houran live in Massachusetts. They were able to meet and decided to do book signings and events together. Unfortunately, because of the current covid-19 situation, their book launch was cancelled. Since then, they have created a video of Lori reading and Priscilla showing her art.

Priscilla lives in the Boston area. She works out of her studio at ArtSpace Maynard. She and her husband David have two grown children, Tim and Addie. They are also the proud caretakers of @phoebethe tripod. Phoebe is a tripod and Priscilla’s ideal studio mate.

Priscilla is the co-coordinator of the NESCBWI Greater Group. She loves to present to kids and adults. She belongs to a virtual critique group that helps her to create the best artwork that she’s capable of. She strongly believes that none of us can do this work alone and that critique groups are crucial. Priscilla is a member of the 2020 Debut Crew.

SPACE MICE can be found at all independent and major retailers. She encourages everyone to support their local independent bookstore by search them on indie bound.

To find out more about Priscilla visit:

http://PriscillaAlpaugh.com
Twitter – @scillabert
Instagram – @PriscillaAlapaugh

 

Learn more about Lori at:

http://www.lorihaskinshouran.com/
Instagram: @lorihaskinshouran

And, for a fascinating history of why people think the moon is made out of cheese click here.