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vmars314's review against another edition
5.0
This was a very cute story that I enjoyed very much. It is a story of a mouse named Celeste interwoven among true events. The pencil-drawn illustrations are beautiful; very reminiscent of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, another wonderful story.
prairiebunny's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
leithd15's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
pridiansky's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
First of all, 5 stars to the artwork. There is art on nearly every page of the book, which must have taken a great deal of time to make, considering the book is 336 pages. A substantial number of them are full-page spreads. They're all rendered in graphite pencil and the shading and detail is fantastic. The print quality makes the drawings almost feel like they're the originals. I cannot say enough about how well done the art is. I will be keeping the book soley for the art. That is how good it is.
Okay, now for the story. I have to say....this is not what I wanted or expected. ^^;;;; The front cover gives off cozy, adorable mouse vibes. Maybe you think you're going to read something ala Beatrix Potter? NO. This book is savage as hell and I think if I had read this as a child, I would be....Le Sad. I get that there are probably plenty of books that go the sweet, slice-of-life mouse route, but the direction the author decided to take this, in the wise words of Randy Jackson, "Is a no from me, dawg." You know the Audubon Society? The one that protects bird species and promotes conservation where they live? Well, it is named after none other than John James Audubon, a French man who traveled across North America and painted over 400 species of birds in the early 1800s. He was known for his life-like representation of said birds. How did he accomplish this, you ask? By studying them in the field and meticulously painting them after much observation? NO, he did it by murdering the shit out of almost all of them and posing them into "life-like" poses. What the actual fuuuuuuuuck. I cannot even. I can't even odd. The author has this weird fascination with this dead, bird-murdering man and wrote him into the book for whatever ungodly reason. I just don't understand. I mean, I can hazard a guess that this book is trying to send a message about how conservation is important and how animal cruelty is wrong, but I'm honestly not sure about that because in his author bio it says that when he was a boy "he enjoyed spending time outdoors, hiking in the woods, and pretending he was Audubon." Huh. The only redemptive quality about this whole situation is that (asshole) Audubon has an apprentice named Joseph who becomes friends with our mouse character Celeste, and takes her on adventures with him. Though, a lot of brutality is witnessed, so it's not at all pleasant to read sometimes.
***cue spoilers from here***
And I am serious when I say the book is savage. There is a lot of death. A cat kills a rat at the beginning of the book and there is indeed a picture of the cat holding said rat corpse in its mouth. There's a scene where thousands of passenger pigeons are murdered for sport. Celeste tells the story about how her whole family was slain when humans tilled the field and how she was rescued by a gopher who also died because it was shot. There's another scene where Audubon, (who ruins the whole book in my humble opinion) pins up a STILL LIVING BIRD against a wood plank. And yes, there is absolutely an illustration of that scene. It's fucking awful and I felt it went a little too far. The mindset around animals was different in that time period, but Audubon is a subhuman swamp monster and should probably not have a society named in his honor. It should be called the Audubon Penitence Society.
The end of the story saved this book from a 2 star rating. It contains some of the cozy, adorable mouse content that I was looking for in the first place and ends on a nice note. Despite that, Celeste the mouse loses all of her friends one way or another and I felt sad for her. The ending helped the sting a little, but if you want to read a bittersweet mouse book, 'The Tale Of Despereux' is far more well-executed than this and handles sensitive topics with more empathy and nuance. So, make of that what you will. If you are thinking of giving this to a younger kid, read it first to decide whether they will like it based on how sensitive they are. I'm glad this book wasn't around when I was a kid, because I'm sure I would have been drawn to the cover and artwork.
A small complaint I have is that the author refers to the place the characters are living as a 'plantation.' While that is an accurate definition, the book does not cover anything surrounding the events and deep suffering surrounding that word. I wouldn't reasonably expect it to, since that isn't the aim of the book's plot, but If we're going to completely ignore the Slavery, then why not call it a farm? Maybe some people will disagree or think this is a petty complaint, but whenever the word plantation was used I internally cringed and just thought about how it might hinder the enjoyment for people of color, especially since it's a children's book. Was it really necessary? I'm sure there would be the opposite complaint if he had called it a farm and then people would say he was trying to just gloss over it altogether, but he didn't even have to base the novel in Louisiana if he didn't want to. I'm sure Audubon painted in loads of places and a different location could have been chosen. I digress. It just bothered me.
TLDR: Came for the story and art, only stayed for the art.
Okay, now for the story. I have to say....this is not what I wanted or expected. ^^;;;; The front cover gives off cozy, adorable mouse vibes. Maybe you think you're going to read something ala Beatrix Potter? NO. This book is savage as hell and I think if I had read this as a child, I would be....Le Sad. I get that there are probably plenty of books that go the sweet, slice-of-life mouse route, but the direction the author decided to take this, in the wise words of Randy Jackson, "Is a no from me, dawg." You know the Audubon Society? The one that protects bird species and promotes conservation where they live? Well, it is named after none other than John James Audubon, a French man who traveled across North America and painted over 400 species of birds in the early 1800s. He was known for his life-like representation of said birds. How did he accomplish this, you ask? By studying them in the field and meticulously painting them after much observation? NO, he did it by murdering the shit out of almost all of them and posing them into "life-like" poses. What the actual fuuuuuuuuck. I cannot even. I can't even odd. The author has this weird fascination with this dead, bird-murdering man and wrote him into the book for whatever ungodly reason. I just don't understand. I mean, I can hazard a guess that this book is trying to send a message about how conservation is important and how animal cruelty is wrong, but I'm honestly not sure about that because in his author bio it says that when he was a boy "he enjoyed spending time outdoors, hiking in the woods, and pretending he was Audubon." Huh. The only redemptive quality about this whole situation is that (asshole) Audubon has an apprentice named Joseph who becomes friends with our mouse character Celeste, and takes her on adventures with him. Though, a lot of brutality is witnessed, so it's not at all pleasant to read sometimes.
***cue spoilers from here***
And I am serious when I say the book is savage. There is a lot of death. A cat kills a rat at the beginning of the book and there is indeed a picture of the cat holding said rat corpse in its mouth. There's a scene where thousands of passenger pigeons are murdered for sport. Celeste tells the story about how her whole family was slain when humans tilled the field and how she was rescued by a gopher who also died because it was shot. There's another scene where Audubon, (who ruins the whole book in my humble opinion) pins up a STILL LIVING BIRD against a wood plank. And yes, there is absolutely an illustration of that scene. It's fucking awful and I felt it went a little too far. The mindset around animals was different in that time period, but Audubon is a subhuman swamp monster and should probably not have a society named in his honor. It should be called the Audubon Penitence Society.
The end of the story saved this book from a 2 star rating. It contains some of the cozy, adorable mouse content that I was looking for in the first place and ends on a nice note. Despite that, Celeste the mouse loses all of her friends one way or another and I felt sad for her. The ending helped the sting a little, but if you want to read a bittersweet mouse book, 'The Tale Of Despereux' is far more well-executed than this and handles sensitive topics with more empathy and nuance. So, make of that what you will. If you are thinking of giving this to a younger kid, read it first to decide whether they will like it based on how sensitive they are. I'm glad this book wasn't around when I was a kid, because I'm sure I would have been drawn to the cover and artwork.
A small complaint I have is that the author refers to the place the characters are living as a 'plantation.' While that is an accurate definition, the book does not cover anything surrounding the events and deep suffering surrounding that word. I wouldn't reasonably expect it to, since that isn't the aim of the book's plot, but If we're going to completely ignore the Slavery, then why not call it a farm? Maybe some people will disagree or think this is a petty complaint, but whenever the word plantation was used I internally cringed and just thought about how it might hinder the enjoyment for people of color, especially since it's a children's book. Was it really necessary? I'm sure there would be the opposite complaint if he had called it a farm and then people would say he was trying to just gloss over it altogether, but he didn't even have to base the novel in Louisiana if he didn't want to. I'm sure Audubon painted in loads of places and a different location could have been chosen. I digress. It just bothered me.
TLDR: Came for the story and art, only stayed for the art.
stacers1973's review against another edition
4.0
Cute, quick little read about how Audubon did his work, from the perspective of a mouse.
samanthamurk's review against another edition
4.5
Children's Fiction
I read this book around fourth grade. I don't remember the plot so much just that it is about a mouse who weaves baskets. I remember this being a really sweet story and a really pretty book.
-August 2022
I read this book around fourth grade. I don't remember the plot so much just that it is about a mouse who weaves baskets. I remember this being a really sweet story and a really pretty book.
-August 2022
gabs_myfullbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
This book was adorable. That is really the only way to describe it. At times it was very apparent that this book was a bit too young for me, but I kept reading because I loved the illustrations! It's a book that's best for little kids, but Celeste was so cute that I just didn't care.
Besides Celeste being absolutely precious, I got to learn more about Audobon, someone I didn't know too much about, other than that he painted wildlife. It's not like this made me an expert on him or anything, but it gives you some more knowledge of him, and seeing as the intended audience is elementary schoolers, I think that the book had just the right amount of info without it seeming too lesson-y. (I'm so great at describing things, aren't I?)
It was a story that didn't take me very long to finish, and I don't regret reading it. I'm probably going to give this book to someone younger then me so that they can enjoy it.
This book was adorable. That is really the only way to describe it. At times it was very apparent that this book was a bit too young for me, but I kept reading because I loved the illustrations! It's a book that's best for little kids, but Celeste was so cute that I just didn't care.
Besides Celeste being absolutely precious, I got to learn more about Audobon, someone I didn't know too much about, other than that he painted wildlife. It's not like this made me an expert on him or anything, but it gives you some more knowledge of him, and seeing as the intended audience is elementary schoolers, I think that the book had just the right amount of info without it seeming too lesson-y. (I'm so great at describing things, aren't I?)
It was a story that didn't take me very long to finish, and I don't regret reading it. I'm probably going to give this book to someone younger then me so that they can enjoy it.
lenoirleon's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book because I will be working with the battle of the books team at my elementary school this year. Another teacher, who has worked with the team for several years, had mentioned that the books this year weren't great. However, I know that we have differing opinions on one of my favorites ([b:A Wrinkle in Time|33574273|A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet, #1)|Madeleine L'Engle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507963312s/33574273.jpg|948387]) so I decided to give these books a try.
Unfortunately, if the rest of the books are similar to this one, I'll have to agree. The concept of A Nest for Celeste is cute. It introduces children to James Audubon through the eyes of a sweet mouse character. But that's where the cuteness stops. I was not aware of Audubon's methods of obtaining his wonderful portraits and now I'm a bit disturbed about how popular his work has been through out several centuries. While I don't feel that books should shy away from topics that have traditionally been presented to older audiences, I don't believe this book was the place for showing how Audubon either tortured or killed his subjects just to get a lovely rendition.
I also had difficulties with how Celeste's fellow characters all ended leaving her in some shape or form. I understand that life happens, but for a book that seems meant to be a sweet middle grade historical fiction type book, this one left me wanting.
Unfortunately, if the rest of the books are similar to this one, I'll have to agree. The concept of A Nest for Celeste is cute. It introduces children to James Audubon through the eyes of a sweet mouse character. But that's where the cuteness stops. I was not aware of Audubon's methods of obtaining his wonderful portraits and now I'm a bit disturbed about how popular his work has been through out several centuries. While I don't feel that books should shy away from topics that have traditionally been presented to older audiences, I don't believe this book was the place for showing how Audubon either tortured or killed his subjects just to get a lovely rendition.
I also had difficulties with how Celeste's fellow characters all ended leaving her in some shape or form.
Spoiler
The fellow rodents died in various ways. The birds had to migrate. Joseph left.kristin_thereader's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75