my daughter and I loved reading this one together, the ryhmes were fun and she thought the book was hilarious! the illustrations were great for her to follow along as well!

My kids are 2, 5 and 7 - a book about sibling quarrels sounded like just the ticket! We listened to this in the car on a particularly turbulent afternoon and it’s so sweet, exactly the dose of heartwarming silliness my lot needed!!

This story was funny and a little slapstick but heartwarming at the same time. It was a very fun audiobook because of the rhyming language and sound effects. Kids will relate to what it feels like when they have to accept that they do things differently.

Funny but also a comfort read. I really enjoyed the narration. Many children can relate to this story. I would recommend it to parents of young children. They can play the audiobook in the car, then go home and look at the illustrations in the physical book.

I thought this an adorable book. It was cute, rhymy, and had a positive message. I particularly loved the fact that it had discussion questions and talked about God at the end.

The audiobook narrations on children's books are exceptional lately. The Big Mess was a fun listen, replete with audio sounds that added a layer of immersive experience here.
As for the story: it was written really well, the descriptions and emotions and dialogues...all very perfect. It was such an adorable take on embracing the mess and revelling in it. Cute!

This was incredibly cute! I am in fact not a child, nor do I have any children, but I was curious how a children’s book would do on audio as they are usually very heavily pictured. I really liked the intro explaining this at the beginning of the story, and I think Justin Whitman Early does a very good job of brining his characters to life with his narration. He made it fun and exciting, and had a very good pace for younger readers. I don’t think you miss anything by going with audio. It almost feels like a bedtime story where you close your eyes and listen to your parent reading to you. The story itself is very cute and has a good lesson in it. I also thought the explanation and questions after the story were very interesting and would be a good tool to help children connect and process the morale of the story better.

What an unexpected delight this audiobook turned out to be!

And thank you, Justin, for setting a new bar when it comes to narration. I fear my own humble read-aloud abilities will never quite measure up! The sound effects were a delightful touch, and while I would’ve loved to follow along with the illustrations, the story was still completely engaging without them. A true testament to both the storytelling and the performance.

The story follows two brother mice with wildly different personalities and interests. Mouse loves order. Moose thrives in chaos. All Mouse wants is to create the perfect dessert. All Moose wants is to destroy it. In the end, they realize that by combining their strengths, they can create something far more meaningful than either could on their own. It’s a lovely and accessible message, delivered with heart and humor.

Once again, a truly wonderful performance by the author. Your little ones are lucky to have you at story time!

Thank you to NetGalley, Zonderkidz, and Justin Whitmel Earley for the privilege of this ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

5⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley for this ALC!

My kids have listened to this every day this week! My daughter said she thinks the sound effects are the best part. An excellent read for kids- especially if they are like mine and like to bicker ;)

The Big Mess is about two brothers, Mouse and Moose, and how sometimes things just don't go the way you expect! The older brother Moose is busy in the kitchen whipping up a wonderful dessert, until Moose storms through like a well-meaning hurricane and makes a real mess of it. This story is about being understanding and accepting of younger siblings, and remembering they don't know the things that you do. Moose is a great example of an older brother because he is patient and nurturing to his younger brother, even when he's made his day a little bit harder.

I LOVED this audiobook!! The narrator was having so much fun and the sound effects were fantastic, I think this would be super captivating for young children. It honestly made me want to sit down and read the picture book because the scenes were so vivid in my mind.