A review by twicomb
Mozzarella by Jenna James

lighthearted fast-paced

2.0

A picture book that's clearly borne from the author/illustrator's love of Italy and the Italian countryside. The story follows a family of mice, all named after various cheeses, as the brother and sister learn how to overcome disagreements. It's a simple story but unfortunately much of the action happens off the page (eg the finding of the urn, the making of the cheesecake). It's also somewhat disjointed. It begins with the discovery of a stolen treasure, which seems like it would be a key story point, but it's forgotten and never mentioned again.
The illustrations were not to my personal taste; they felt computerized, and homogenous from page to page (facial expressions, color palette, etc). But again, this is my personal opinion and art preferences vary widely so you may find the art very much to your liking. And there are several illustrations that are quite nice, like the town map.
My final thoughts: creating picture books is extremely difficult, much more so than most people realize. The simpler the story and illustrations, the more work it takes to bring them to perfection. I commend this author for taking the leap, and I hope she will continue to remain dedicated to her craft. She clearly has the passion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC for unbiased review.