Louie & Dan Are Friends

Pryor, Bonnie

ISBN 10: 068808561X ISBN 13: 9780688085612

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 1997

Synopsis

Being the best of friends, the two mouse brothers try to adjust their lives to make each other happy, but when things turn sour, Mama Mouse has to explain to them that they can have their separate lives and still remain close.

About this title

About the Author:

Bonnie Pryor thoroughly researched important periods of American history for each of her American Adventures. For Luke on the High Seas, she delved into seafaring in the nineteenth century so that the details of Luke Reed's journey would be accurate. She lives in Gambier, Ohio. In Her Own Words...

"I grew up in Spokane, Washington, the middle child in a family of three girls. Books were a part of my life from as far back as I can remember. I was often in trouble for reading at the wrong time. I would be caught reading under the dining room table when I was supposed to be dusting, or reading under the covers by flashlight late at night-even hiding a novel inside my textbooks at school.

"Not everyone thought I read too much. I remember a school librarian who saved all the new books for me to read first, and on several occasions she gave me presents of books. Perhaps she felt she should because I had read every single thing in her library!

"I was very shy, and, like Robert in The Plum Tree War, I spent a lot of my time hanging from my knees from a favorite plum tree, telling myself stories. Of course since I was raised in the West these stories were usually about wild horses and cowboys, and I was always the heroine who came to the rescue. The stories were long and involved, sometimes going on for days. I was always impatient to get to my tree each day so I could find out what was going to happen next, but I was too lazy to write the stories down.

"I think everyone expected me to become a writer, but it took me twenty years and a gentle nudge from my husband, Robert, to build up the courage to try. In the meantime I moved to Ohio, worked at a variety of jobs, and raised a family. I have four grown children, eight grandchildren, and two daughters still at home-Jenny and Chrissy. Many of my books are loosely based upon incidents in my children's lives, and they often appear as characters, in personality if not by name.

"My family recently moved to the country. When I'm not writing and visiting schools, we're busy building barns and fences and laying out flower beds. In addition, we all take part in caring for the four newcomers to our home: three horses and a bunny!"

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2. Louie and Dan move out on their own: "Most of the time the two brothers were happy living together in their cozy home, even though Dan loved to go exploring and Louie was a stay-at-home sort of mouse." This difference in their personalities is at the heart of the story, and until the two learn how to communicate openly, their best efforts to please one another go awry. Pryor has a message in mind but she doesn't let it overwhelm the somewhat rambling, yet involving, story. The plot is nicely constructed, with minor characters providing contrast to the conflict between the two brothers. Miles's illustrations, done with watercolor pencil, are sweet and naturalistic at the same time. The soft colors favor a peculiar pumpkin-rust tone, but the artist's use of line and perspective are especially effective, and the mood of coziness (touched at times with humor, at other times with danger) is beautifully sustained. This long picture book would make a good read-aloud for primary-grade children who are exactly at an age when their interest in forming and maintaining relationships is intense. While not an essential purchase, this sequel to The Porcupine Mouse (Morrow, 1988) has charm and child appeal.?Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 068808561X
• ISBN 13: 9780688085612
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Miles Elizabeth