Virtual Book Tour: A Gift for a Mouse by Rebecca Graf

About the Book:  What if you could see things with a whole new set of eyes? What if you could do that with The Last Supper? Follow the adventures of a little mouse who is present at the famous meal and witnesses everything that happens. He has no idea who the people are or the significance of their actions and words. All he knows is what he sees and what he experiences.

About the Author:  Rebecca Graf lives in Wisconsin with her husband and three children. She has written religious children stories, A Gift for a Mouse and The Nightingale in the Garden, as well as a novel, Deep Connections. She spends her days maintaining her websites, publishing books with her small publishing company she has partnered with a friend to start (Silver Tongue Press), and writing stories. Being trained as an accountant where creativity could land you in jail, she turned her creative spirit to writing or crocheting when the more hands-on need calls to her.

You can find Rebecca all over the internet. She writes regularly for HubPages and other sites. You can read her authors blog atwww.rebeccagraf.com. Or you can follow tons of activity at A Book Lover's Library (www.abookloverslibrary.com) where she helps other authors spread the word about their works. The News in Books (www.thenewsinbooks.com) is another venture with a friend that pulls together announcements in the book world and shares them with followers. You'll never find this woman not being busy.


My Review:  A Gift for a Mouse was indeed a unique spin on a popular Biblical tale:  the account of the Last Supper.The story begins as little Thomas the mouse struggles to get to sleep. After pleading with his grandfather to tell him a story, his grandfather recounts his eye-witness tale of the Last Supper. From the table laden with food to the betrayal by Judas, Thomas' grandfather leaves out no detail. . .except for the character's names.

I feel like the author had a good idea in approaching this Biblical story from a different point of view. However, I fear that the story itself was lacking, and seemed to be bogged down by the generalities. Not only that, but as a kindergarten teacher of nine years, I fear that children would be confused by the multitude of characters who have no names. As the grandfather recounts the story, he speaks from his point of view, which means he did not know anyone's name, including the name of Jesus. This leads the story into a roundabout of "this man", "the man", "he" and "him". As an adult who is very familiar with the story, I had no trouble following along, but I fear a child who is unfamiliar with the story would definitely have difficulty keeping up.

Additionally, I feel the story would have a more powerful plot if the story was the tale of the grandfather witnessing the Last Supper instead of the grandfather telling the tale to his grandson. But that is just a personal preference on my part.

The illustrations were simple but lively and reminded me fondly of Saturday morning cartoons. The bright colors and cartoonish style add the perfect touch to the story itself. There are just enough pictures scattered throughout the book to illustrate the story without having so many as to distract from the story.

All in all, I would recommend this book if you are planning to read it with your child, so as to help them understand who is who within the story.  Otherwise, I fear there may be some confusion.  All that being said, at the end of the book, I felt encouraged by the reminder of the kindness and compassion Jesus shows. . .even to a lowly mouse.  How much more loving and compassionate will He be to His children?