This is simply adorable! I first encountered this author's work in The Tea Party in the Woods. This book features a similar illustration style (although it's a little less creepy in spots), with lots of black-and-white drawings and touches of colour. In this story, Momo is preparing for her turn at the piano recital. She's very nervous. But someone else is nervous, too. She looks down and sees a mouse in a fancy dress who's preparing for her own recital. The mouse invites Momo to watch the murine performance, and to help her new friend, Momo offers to accompany her on the piano. At the end, we find out that Momo has actually been performing for the human audience, having used her imagination to overcome her anxiety.

I really like the pictures in this. The mouse theatre is especially charming, with all the dressed-up mice filling the seats. Perhaps understandably (given that it's in Momo's imagination), there's more colour in these scenes; in the "real world", the only pops of colour are Momo's red dress and her pink cheeks.

I enjoyed this book more than The Tea Party in the Woods, partly because of the relatable story, partly because of the illustrations. I'd recommend this one to those looking for books about performance anxiety, who enjoy talking-animal fantasies, or who simply want a good story.

What a sweet sweet book about little Momo, her first piano recital, and a kind mouseling who helps calm her nerves. The imaginative story entrances as the mouseling invites anxious Momo into a miniature world with a tiny theater, a fine audience of mice, and a stage filled with dancers, singers, and circus performers. Momo accompanies the singing mouseling, then finds as she stands for a bow that she’s actually just finished her real recital, her mind providing respite from fear through imagination. But oh what darling illustrations, the mice audience precious with some holding hands, others flowers, still others programs. Enchanting! 5/5

Pub Date 03 Sep 2019.

Thanks to Akiko Miyakoshi, Kids Can Press and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

#ThePianoRecital #NetGalley