Babymouse: Heartbreaker

Holm, Jennifer L., and Matthew Holm.  Babymouse: Heartbreaker.  New York: Random House, 2006.  ISBN 0375837981

The main character is Babymouse, who is looking for love, on Valentine's Day.  She is a hopeless romantic and a dreamer.  Children can identify with the awkward social expectations of being different and finding their first love. The story begins, as Babymouse, is daydreaming about romance and love.  Babymouse's mission, is to locate, a  dance partner for the Valentine's Day dance.  Readers can see a familiar setting because it parodies famous movie lines, and follows fairy tales to a certain extent.  Babymouse transitions between movie lines and fairy tales into different scenes, to showcase her quest to find true love, or at least someone to dance with on Valentine's Day.  The comic strip, style of writing, shows an informal format that children can comprehend.  Each page number is encased, in a pink heart, to further emphasize the Valentine's theme.  The author has done a marvelous job of showing real life situations such as Babymouse encounters.  She is rejected to a dance by the first person she asks, and is not discourage by the situation.  The overall theme is to follow your heart, and don't give up on the slightest deviation. Babymouse, prevails, as she finds a dance partner on Valentine's Day.

Excerpts

From Horn Book Magazine

"As in the previous books, the text and illustrations successfully differentiate between reality and daydreams, and there's a good amount of humor injected into both (the banter between Babymouse and the disembodied narrator is especially entertaining)."

Flynn, Kitty. 2007. "Babymouse: Heartbreaker." Horn Book Magazine 83(1): 67-69.

Awards

CBC Awards and Honors

Connections

Other Holm books Babymouse series

Babymouse: Queen of the World! ISBN 0375832297

Babymouse: Rock Star ISBN 0375832327

Babymouse: Skater Girl ISBN 0375839895

Activities for Children

Children can be asked to write a Babymouse storyline using a comic strip format. 

Personal Response

Babymouse: Heartbreaker was a wonderful book that I would highly recommend to parents and children simply because there was a profound message.  Babymouse was rejected to a school dance and as heartbreaking as that may be, it is a great way to teach children that lesson.  The character shows courage to stand alone and find her true love.  She wasn't afraid to ask others to the dance.  Children can learn about following their dream as Babymouse did.