| Fourth of July Mice! | |
| Author: | Bethany Roberts |
| Illustrator: | Doug Cushman |
| Genre: | Children's fiction |
| Series: | Holiday Mice[1] |
| Publisher: | Clarion Books[2] |
| Published: | May 2004[3] |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Isbn: | 0-618-31367-2 |
| Pages: | 32 |
Fourth of July Mice! is a 2004 children's picture book written by Bethany Roberts and illustrated by Doug Cushman, part of the team's Holiday Mice series. The book, about a family of mice celebrating U.S. Independence Day, was published to positive reviews.
A family of mice spend Independence Day holding a parade, playing baseball, swimming in the pool, and enjoying fireworks among other activities.[2]
The book is the seventh (and to date, the last)[4] instalment of Roberts and Cushman's Holiday Mice series,[1] [3] whose title characters previously appeared in Halloween Mice! (1995) and Thanksgiving Mice! (2001).[3]
Fourth of July Mice! received positive reviews. The School Library Journal called it a "slice-of-life story [that is] slight but pleasant",[2] and Publishers Weekly deemed it a "light, rhymed romp".[1] Writing for Booklist, Connie Fletcher said: "[''Fourth of July Mice!''] just about gushes red, white, and blue—from the colors of the clothing the family wears to the all-American activities that form the backbone of the book....A charming way to prepare for the holiday."[3] The mice's proceedings "[made for] great fun written in quick, rhyming text" (per Bonnie Fowler of the Winston-Salem Journal),[5] while "very simple language helps kids understand the celebration" (according to Children's Bookwatch).[6]
School Library Journal, Booklist, and Winston-Salem praised Doug Cushman's illustrations,[3] [2] [5] along with The Horn Book (which was otherwise less enthusiastic).[7] "The energetic watercolors," The Horn Book reviewer said, "capture the holiday spirit better than the lackluster rhyming text, which relies too heavily on repeated words and onomatopoeia."[7] Four years after its publication, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal wrote, "Featuring the Holiday Mice at their most adorable, this story about our nation's birthday will delight readers young and old."[8]