Have you ever felt just plain bad? Maybe you or a loved one were sick or maybe you lost a pet, for whatever reason, you were down in the dumps. Do you remember what made you feel better? Maybe it was someone instead of something. The book Cheer Up, Mouse! by Jed Henry is a wonderful little picture book that depicts a mouse who, for some reason, is down in the dumps. It doesn't take long for mouse's friends to realize something is wrong. Many of mouse's friends, including the crow, frog, squirrel, and hedge hog try everything they can think of to cheer mouse up, but nothing works. The last few pages of the book have no words, only pictures. These pictures show mouse's friend, chipmunk, climbing down from his tree and simply giving mouse a big hug.
This is a wonderful fiction book, full of beautiful illustrations, that helps teach young children the value of friendship. This is also a wonderful teaching tool. One strategy I would use with this book is to have the students act out the scenes in the book. I would have them create masks during art that depict the various characters. Once the masks were complete, the students could act out each character's part in the story. This strategy would help me gauge the mastery the students have of the story. It would also help the students relate the story to events happening in their own lives. Check this book out sometime and use it with your students. You will all be blessed by this story.
