These little mice are my favorite mice since Fivel. My daughter kept telling about their giant ears and pretending she was one. I love that this book includes activity pages and a recipe for cheesecake! But I need to know what happened to the parents!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This book reminded me of one of my favorite books from when I was a child - The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, the difference being that this book was a picture book and not a chapter book. I thought this story was very sweet and I also enjoyed the illustrations. Highly recommend this adorable book!

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Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the eARC! This is a cute story about an Italian Mouse and his adventures. A cute way to introduce young children to life in Italy! I like how the author throws in Italian words too throughout the book and the vocabulary game in the back is a nice added touch. The mice in the story have giant ears which make them look very cute too!

A picture book that's clearly borne from the author/illustrator's love of Italy and the Italian countryside. The story follows a family of mice, all named after various cheeses, as the brother and sister learn how to overcome disagreements. It's a simple story but unfortunately much of the action happens off the page (eg the finding of the urn, the making of the cheesecake). It's also somewhat disjointed. It begins with the discovery of a stolen treasure, which seems like it would be a key story point, but it's forgotten and never mentioned again.
The illustrations were not to my personal taste; they felt computerized, and homogenous from page to page (facial expressions, color palette, etc). But again, this is my personal opinion and art preferences vary widely so you may find the art very much to your liking. And there are several illustrations that are quite nice, like the town map.
My final thoughts: creating picture books is extremely difficult, much more so than most people realize. The simpler the story and illustrations, the more work it takes to bring them to perfection. I commend this author for taking the leap, and I hope she will continue to remain dedicated to her craft. She clearly has the passion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC for unbiased review.

I am a retired preschool teacher, mother of seven and grandmother of two and i have read A LOT of children's books. Mozzarella is a sweet story about a mouse named Mozzeralla and his family - all named after different kinds of cheese. The story takes place in Italy and introduced children to Italian words and even has a little matching game on the last page. The story teaches about telling the truth and about being a good sibling. I loved the illustrations, especially the pictures of the postcards and the train tickets - the details were fun. Lovely book - I would recommend!

This was good! Drawings are simple and clear. Loved the names. I wish there was more elaboration on the mother and father. You get a a glimpse of their story which is interesting and i thought the main story was going to following along with that but it did not. Maybe it will for upcoming books?
Also maybe it was my version, but i felt like there were quotation marks missing from dialogue?

I really liked the Italian elements and cooking bits, but I found the combination of missed family on adventure with the moral lesson a bit awkwardly done. It was great to have the locket scene, but it felt a little clunky. The dialogue was a bit awkward too, even breaking up the sentence with some action words could make it flow better. Still, very charming!

What a great book!
“Mozzarella” is a delightful cheese-filled adventure starring a sweet little mouse and his family. With plenty of heartwarming moments and exciting escapades, this book is perfect for young readers.
The simple language makes it easy for the target age group to follow along, while the moral undertones add depth to the story.

Plus, it’s so much fun that even older kids will enjoy joining Mozzarella on his cheesy escapades!
I even read this to my young adult daughter and she giggled happily through it!

Thankyou to author Jenna James, Booksgosocial publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

Charlene 📚🤗🌸 @lastnownext

Thank you to NetGalley for this e copy of Mozzarella by Jenna James in exchange for a honest review.This is the story of Mozzarella and Fontina, a mouse brother and sister, who are living with their grandmother while their parents are on an adventure in New York City .They learn valuable lessons about telling the truth in this preschool friendly storybook which also has some activities in the back..

This was very short and had a lot of detail about what was to come but it didn’t come in this version of the story. The next book would probably have a lot more substance

The cheese names are great and so is the artistic work

I believe this is a beginning to an ongoing series. Mozzarella lives with his Grandmother and sister Fontina. In this book we learn about telling the truth. We also learn that Mom and Dad are in New York on a quest. I like that the author included a game in the end and a recipe for Cheesecake that is a plus for the cook in the family. I think the illustrations are adorable and full of emotion with Mozzarella and Fontina. I will be interested to see where this series goes as it is off to a great start.

the mouse was so cute and the story was very entertaining!! i'm sure any little kids will love the art and everything about it

This is a cute story but the lack of a satisfying ending makes it hard to recommend. The illustrations are cute but rather generic. The story is too drawn out for a picture book. Overall, a fine book but nothing makes it stand out as particularly special.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to Booksgosocial / Nightingale Books and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

This was a quite an odd story, it didn’t really feel completed in anyway and not much really happens. It’s a shame honestly as they hinted at what could have been a great adventure book or a great family story either of the two stories hinted could have made this book great but it didn’t really have either.

We got the lesson of being honest is the best thing to do, an important lesson for children for sure, but it would have also been nice for Mozerella to have still made the cheesecake with his Nonna and sister instead of missing out. We also got a glimpse at what has happened to his parents but the story abruptly ends and we don’t get to further that which isn’t a good things at all, we were lead into it and then got nothing.

The illustrations though cute were also a bit strange, you could tell they were computer made illustrations. I did like all the included actives and the additional Italian facts and language you could learn at the end of the book, i always like book that include extra things for kids to do. Overall I think this could have been a really exciting and wonderful book, but it really wasn’t which is such a shame honestly, it was still good but could have been miles better.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for my review.

An enchanting tale unfolds around Mozzarella the little mouse, who resides in a church basement with his grandmother and sister, Fontina.
As their parents embark on a family quest, leaving the siblings behind, they receive alarming news of their parents' disappearance. Despite the uncertainty, their determined uncle promises to find them.

This story is brimming with charm, featuring endearing characters and delightful illustrations. While I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I found myself somewhat disappointed by the cliffhanger ending. Nonetheless, the engaging activities and insights into Italy at the book's conclusion were a welcome addition.
Eagerly awaiting the next story soon?

What a cheesy fun book! A family of mice in Italy are waiting to hear more from the parents who are in NYC looking for a great mouse treasure! There is sibling rivalry and a confession of the truth of naughtiness between the little siblings. There is also a simple recipe for New York Cheesecake and a few fun paper activities. I'm glad that there will be more adventures coming soon!
The illustrations by the author are clear, imaginative, colorful, and fun.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone, but especially to a school or your local public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on PDF from BooksGoSocial via NetGalley. Thank you!
Available 29 Feb 2024

This was a cute book and I loved the art style! I am quite fond(u) of cheese related names so this hit the mark for me (haha!)

The story itself was a little lacklustre, however. I think the moral was an important one (honesty is the best policy) but I think it would’ve benefited from a little more excitement. I think having the activity pages at the end was a nice touch too.

Unsure whether this is relevant for me to leave in my review but there were a few missing left side quotation marks on the dialogue.

All-in-all, a sweet book that I think could benefit from a tad more storyline/excitement.

The book starts off on a friendly note by introducing us to the family, setting a warm tone for the rest of the book. It's cool that they've included activities to pick up a bit of Italian along the way, and the recipe at the end is a neat touch.

However, I have to admit, the story itself didn't quite hit the mark for me. It felt a bit lacking and didn't hold my interest as much as I had hoped. But hey, that's just my take on it.

On the bright side, the illustrations are beautifully crafted and add a lot to the overall charm of the book. Even though the story didn't quite do it for me, I still appreciated flipping through the pages to admire the artwork. Overall, "Mozzarella" might not be my top pick, but it's still worth checking out for the lovely illustrations and bonus activities.

A delightful original children’s book. The story of a family of mice from Italy.

Quite atmospheric with a sense of place and the love of travel at its heart. The children’s parents are travelling, perhaps in New York from a postcard they receive.

Being Italian they have no trouble going into the kitchen and making a cheesecake to celebrate this news update.

With text on one page and a colourful illustration opposite this is a traditional read along story. The idea is that in each episode some moral issue will be addressed. Here the sense of getting someone into trouble and not being honest about what happened.

I liked the concept and the overall direction the author wants to take her books. However, I found the additional layer of this search for the ‘lost treasure’ confusing but then I might have missed an earlier book where the context was made clearer.

Overall though it is a good tale about family life and getting along together. The additional elements of learning some Italian words and even making your own cheesecake were a real bonus and a nice surprise to mark this out as a treasured book and something different to read and share.

Thanks NetGalley for an ARC. This was a sweet story of a mouse and his sister. They live with their Nonna and their parents seem to be missing. The story was very short without many details, but the back of the book had fun Italian word games. My daughter liked the mouse falling into the flour.