The Mice of Mushroom Forest by Zanna Goldhawk – The Strawberry Post
A book review of a fun children’s picture book about a mouse who is supposed to hide from the dangers of the Mushroom Forest but instead decides to explore.
About The Mice of Mushroom Forest
Title: The Mice of Mushroom Forest
Author: Zanna Goldhawk
Illustrator: Zanna Goldhawk
Publisher: Orchard Books
Genre: Children’s picture book
Book format reviewed: Hardback
Sweet Strawberries: 
Description: Deep within Mushroom Forest, the mice stay hidden away, safe from the prowling fox.
But Inky Mouse is bold and curious and longs to explore the world. Can she convince her sisters to be brave and leave the safety of their burrow?
A beautiful contemporary fairy tale about the power of courage, friendship and hope.
*Free copy provided by publisher for review…
My review and thoughts on The Mice of Mushroom Forest
Aw, what a lovely tale. Inky and her sisters live in Mushroom Forest, but while Fox prowls the forest ground, the mice hide underground. It isn’t safe to walk the forest floor, but Inky is determined to see Mushroom Forest for herself, and when she does she encourages her sisters to look at its beauty too. But what will they do when Fox prowling nearby spots them? This hardback is filled with thick matt pages full of some really beautiful illustrations and text. The cover has some lovely gold foil details.
I love what happens in this story as Inky the mouse decides to explore Mushroom Forest every night while her sisters sleep. One day when she returns, her sister Chestnut tells her that what she’s doing is too dangerous, but after hearing how beautiful the forest is from Inky’s stories Chestnut and the others decide to follow Inky outside of their burrow one day. The story is a good one with a lovely message of friendship and togetherness and I like what happens near the end when Fox appears and what the mice do.
The illustrations in this book are so beautiful. There’s so much detail on each page of different plants, mushrooms and other animals and you can’t help but just stare at the pictures for ages, taking in just how beautiful and detailed they are. There’s something mesmerising about mushrooms and the world of Mushroom Forest just looks so magical in these illustrations. I also love the way Inky and the other animals look, especially towards the end when Fox reappears, and I do love that last page where we see a brilliant twist in the picture echoing the start of the story too. There are some lovely end pages with more pictures of mushrooms.
Overall this is a lovely story with a good ending and adorable pictures. I’m sure many children, and adults, will love to read this book and spend time just looking at the illustrations. A lovely book and one I really recommend.
Other children’s books with mice in them
-Read review – Mousey Mornings by Fiona Lawry & Oshadi Sandareka
-Read review – Mouse & Mole: What Might Have Been by Joyce Dunbar & James Mayhew (Mouse & Mole #10)
-Read review – Mouse & Mole: Boo to the Who by Joyce Dunbar & James Mayhew (Mouse & Mole #9)
-Read review – Mouse & Mole: Clink, Clank, Clunk by Joyce Dunbar & James Mayhew (Mouse & Mole #8)
-Read review – Mouse & Mole: Lo and Behold! by Joyce Dunbar & James Mayhew (Mouse & Mole #7)
-Read review – A Mouse Called Miika by Matt Haig & Chris Mould
-Read review – Madam Squeaker by Pip Jones & Paula Bowles (Dyslexia-friendly)
What do you think of this book? Do you like to explore new places? Let me know what you think in the comments below 🙂
