2012 Cybils Award Winner. There's so much to see at the bottom of the world! Young readers won't stop grinning as they're swept away by this strange and magical story. Frank Viva, the best-selling author of Along a Long Road , created this "outstanding" book ( School Library Journal ) after visiting Antarctica. PreS-Gr 2-From the endpapers, Mouse asks the timeless question of many young travelers, "Are we there yet?" Inspired by Viva's experiences traveling to Antarctica aboard a Russian research ship, the oblong picture book offers basic facts about the region (it is cold and penguins live there, for instance), while Mouse tries to figure out when it will finally be time to go home. Viva's illustrations employ only primary colors, white, black, and gray, but in the best way. Every bit of space is used to tell the story, which is perfectly suited for storytimes, reading aloud, or even reader's theater. The text is simple enough for fairly new readers to tackle, and interesting. Picture clues are used to help with some of the vocabulary words. This book begs to be shared again and again. Pair it with one of Mo Willems's "Elephant & Piggie" books (Hyperion) and bring on the giggles. Outstanding.-Amy Commers, South St. Paul Public Library, MNα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Viva, illustrator of many New Yorker covers as well as the lovely and poetic picture book Along a Long Road (2011), joins the TOON Books stable with this tale of an impatient mouse’s visit to the Antarctic. The little fellow is immediately homesick despite a human crewmate’s attempts to interest him in penguins, whales, and swimming. Viva has a knack for segueing irresistibly from one page to the next, and his various illustrated lists—“boots,” “mittens,” “a hat,” and “a scarf” when they’re dressing; “jump,” “bump,” “play,” and “dive” while whale watching—provide useful words for neophyte readers. His illustrations define characters with a few simple but personality-packed lines and create environments out of swooping, nearly abstract shapes that, though easily recognizable as narrative elements, retain the comfort of a preschooler’s geometric-pattern books. Young children will also identify with the protagonist as he pines first for the destination and then for home, never quite satisfied with what’s on hand, a problem that Viva’s readers will not share. Preschool-Grade 1. --Jesse Karp * "...beautiful vistas are conjured, especially of the small boat under an open starry sky. The penguins - four different types - are standouts. Like many children, Mouse spends much of his time wanting to go home, until he leaves, then he wants to go back. Readers will, too, again and again." ( Publishers Weekly - Starred Review) Viva's debut, "Along a Long Road," was a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2011, and he brings that same visual audacity and forward momentum to his first early reader. Told in full spreads and comic-book-style panels, the story of a boy in a bat T-shirt and his mouse takes readers aboard a small boat headed to Antarctica. The mouse is initially reluctant, but the boy eventually wins him over with a swim in a wondrous volcanic lagoon. What child wouldn't be on board for that?"- The New York Times " A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse was right up my kindergartener's alley. In fact, he read this book to me (with slight coaching). Pair that with the fact it's a new book by designer Frank Viva (Along a Long Road). What more could a parent ask for." Apartment Therapy * "Outstanding." Starred Review: School Library Journal Winner of the 2012 Easy Readers Cybils Award. Frank Viva started out as an illustrator working for places like Time, Esquire, The New York Times and The Boston Globe. He later began a second career as a graphic designer and now runs a design company in Toronto, Canada. When asked – and sometimes when not – he will lecture about typography, design and things like that. He is a cover artist for The New Yorker magazine and sits on two college advisory boards. Published by Little, Brown, his first picture book, Along a Long Road, was recognized as one of The New York Times Ten Best Illustrated Books of 2011.