Jennifer Holm (Our Only May Amelia) and her brother Matthew Holm, a graphic designer, make an incursion on Captain Underpants territory with these comic books about a girl mouse. Both tales share eye-grabbing black-and-pink graphics, and a perceptible Spiegelman influence simmers in the energetic ink illustrations of the dot-eyed heroine. Queen of the World! introduces Babymouse and her nemesis, a popular cat named Felicia Furrypaws. Babymouse desperately wants an invitation to Felicia's slumber party (which she feels could confer "queen" status), although her best friend Wilson the Weasel expects her to watch monster movies with him that night. Fantasy sequences testify to Babymouse's reading habit and active imagination: in one reverie, she's Babymouserella, transformed into a princess by "fairy godweasel" Wilson, but undone by Felicia on the way to the ball ("In `Cinderella,' the mouse pulls the carriage. Duh!"). A sequel, Our Hero, centers on a gym class where unathletic Babymouse faces dodgeball whiz Felicia. Before the competition, Babymouse daydreams of boot camp, stomps on her antagonist as "Babymousezilla" and indulges in a Peter Pan sequence where a combined Felicia-Hook makes her walk the plank into the jaws of a crocodile (who doubles as the gym teacher). The Holms make humorous allusions to novels and movies, and interject sympathetic remarks from an offstage narrator. This personable, self-conscious mouse, with her penchant for pink hearts, resembles Kevin Henkes's Lilly, with some extra years of grade-school experience. Ages 7-10. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Gr 2-5-Several things are clear about Babymouse, as evidenced from the cover art-shes adorable and she loves pink. Luckily, as further pages reveal, she is also smart, spunky, and a tad sarcastic. In Our Hero, Babymouse must face her greatest fear-dodgeball. Felicia Furrypaws has the quickest throw in school and targets a certain mouse. Babymouse must also tackle her second fear, math. In Queen, she tries everything she can think of to get an invitation to Felicia Furrypawss slumber party. Meanwhile, she avoids her mouse-eating locker, dreams of being a queen (whose idea of luxury is a plateful of books), and solves a mystery. Finally, handing over her homework results in the coveted invitation, but the party doesnt turn out as she had hoped. In both books, the hilarious black-and-white illustrations are splashed with pink. Babymouse has a distinct voice and is a real charmer.-Sadie Mattox, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Gr. 4-6. This energetic comic by a brother-sister team (Jennifer's Our Only May Amelia 0 was a Newbery Honor Book) introduces Babymouse, a young rodent possessed of an admirably gender-bending array of interests and plagued by typical school traumas. The main confrontation takes place on the harrowing battlefield known as the dodgeball court, the site of an earlier trauma for Babymouse. At the end of a furious match, arrogant class idol Felicia Furrypaws (a cat, of course) gets a satisfying comeuppance and Babymouse faces her fears. Free-wheeling pink-toned illustrations admirably catch all the action. --Jesse Karp Copyright 2005 Booklist

(Primary) The heroine of these two graphic novels for new readers is a sassy, smart mouse. Living in a Walter Mitty-like dream world, Babymouse faces the challenges of a sometimes-cruel world that await her each morning when she reluctantly emerges from under her heart-covered duvet. Each challenge brings its own accompanying daydream, rich in pink hues and dramatic overtones. When Babymouse oversleeps and misses the school bus, she has to walk to school; trudging along, she imagines herself braving the Oregon Trail, wishing to ride in the back of the wagon with the ""cool pioneer kids."" Her locker eats her homework; her teacher berates her; but the worst is to come when our heroine discovers the terrors of dodgeball (in Our Hero) and the pitfalls of trying to run with the popular crowd (in Queen of the World!). New readers will appreciate the familiar situations, humorous asides, and easy-to-digest plots. The graphic format is easy to follow, especially since Babymouse's rich inner life is painted pink while the real world is depicted in a less flashy black-and-white. Babymouse is here to stay, and fans of Fashion Kitty and Captain Underpants will now add her to their collection of well-thumbed volumes to read over and over again. [Review includes these titles: Babymouse: Our Hero! and Babymouse: Queen of the World] (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.