Marya Jansen-Gruber (Children's Literature)
Leaves are blowing and rustling stalks of corn are crackling in the cold wind. It is fall and the mice can smell the coming snow in the air. They need to get busy gathering food and other things for the coming months. They all need to be busy but Moses always seems to end up doing something else. First he dances a little dance with the wind and Mama has to remind him that it is gathering time. Then he sings a lovely little song with the wind and Papa asks him what he is doing when he should be gathering. After all, "gathering's best." Then Moses' sister Missy finds him juggling pebbles by the creek instead of gathering. Soon enough, just as they thought, snow comes, and Moses runs for home. There he finds Mama and the crumbs she has gathered, and Papa and the rags and corn he found and Missy and the raisins she brought home. All Moses has to offer is a dance, a song and three pebbles. As the winter days pass the crumbs, corn, rags, and raisins that were gathered turn out to be useful and give comfort to the mouse family. What is not expected is that what Moses collected on that last day when the snow began to fall also turns out to be useful. In fact his songs, his juggles, and his dance become very important indeed to his family. Delightfully illustrated with artwork which reveals the fine detail and beauty in the natural world and in the world of the little mouse family, this charming picture book reminds us that there are times when song, dance, and games can be very important to our well being. We mustn't forget to feed our hearts when we feed our bellies. A wonderful book that would make an excellent addition to any book collection. 2003, Penguin Putnam, $16.99. Ages 3 to 7.

Susan Hepler, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
Moses the mouse, delighted by fall and the coming winter, twirls and skitters in the dry corn. Better get to work, says father, mother and sister Missy. "We need food. Warm things for the nest. Gathering's best." But Moses collects pebbles by the creek, the sounds the winds make in the corn, and his dancing. In this variation on Leo Lionni's "Frederick," sure enough, when the cold winter comes, the other three have provided the necessary food and warm things. But Moses keeps their boredom at bay by entertaining them and soon everyone is juggling, singing, and dancing. Schindler's rendition of the mouse hole interiors, with details such as the loft quartet of mattresses, and the outdoor scenes of the approaching winter landscape are precise, warm, and interesting, done as they are with a variety of media on marbleized paper. Put this one alongside other books that value the artist's work or contrast it with stories like "The Little Red Hen" or "The Grasshopper and the Ants" and ask children to talk about fairness. If you don't do the physical work at hand, should you share the rewards later, or is an artist doing important work? 2003, Dial, $16.99. Ages 4 to 8.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2003 (Vol. 71, No. 13))
Unlike the rest of his family, Moses the mouse can't focus on gathering supplies in anticipation of the coming winter. Instead, he dances ("twirling and skittering"), he sings "a whistle-y song" with the wind through the dried cornstalks, and he juggles pebbles near a stream-all of which come in handy later, when the other mice profess to being bored in their snug refuge. Readers of Leo Lionni's Frederick (1967) may experience some déjà vu, but not only does Spinelli give the tale a livelier, less formal tone, Schindler, taking a cue from Beatrix Potter, clothes his delicately detailed mice warmly as they scamper about, first in an atmospherically autumnal landscape, then within a comfortably furnished tree stump. An indirect but eloquent reminder that art, too, is a staff of life. 2003, Dial, $16.99. Category: Picture book. Ages 6 to 8. Starred Review. © 2003 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2004)
Detailed, expressive paintings enhance this story of Moses the mouse, who can't help enjoying the world around him when he's supposed to be gathering supplies for the imminent winter. The rest of the family brings in necessary provisions, but when midwinter boredom strikes, Moses's pebble-juggling and songs of the "whistle-y" wind unexpectedly prove just as important a contribution to the housebound mice. Category: Picture Books. 2003, Dial, 32pp, $16.99. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Kris Kupatt (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 16, No. 3))
Winter is coming, and the mouse family needs supplies to stay warm and full during the long winter. Everyone is working to gather supplies, except for Moses--he is messing around. When the time comes, Momma, Daddy, and Missy gather food and rags for the cold nights. Moses is upset because he didn't gather anything. Oh, but he did, but he didn't know it at the time. Moses supplied the entertainment for the long, cold winter nights. The mouse family is warm, full, and happy. Fiction. Grades K-5. 2003, Dial, Unpaged., $16.99. Ages 5 to 11.