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A Mouse Called Miika
Last updated Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Author: Matt Haig
Illustrator: Chris Mould
Date of Publication: 2021
ISBN: 0593377397
Grade Level: 5th (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Dec. 2023
Synopsis:
A Mouse Called Miika is an epic adventure story on a miniature scale. It's a tale of mice and men (and more mice). It is about one independent mouse who gets fed up with the other mice, and sets out on a quest of his own to prove that cheese exists, and learns to appreciate other creatures. It is also a tale of great love (of cheese) and great danger. And learning the lesson that, with cheese, as with life, what matters most is not how strongly you smell, but how strong you are on the inside.
| Note to readers: |
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This book has exceptionally nice illustrations for a 5th grade chapter book. We won't get through the entire book (not by a long shot), so you might want to do a picture walk (which we usually do with picture books for the lower grades.)
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Also, it starts fairly slowly, and the 2nd chapter is pretty much about how miserable Miika's life is. Suggestion: read pages 1-3, then skip to page 14.
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| Discussion topics for before reading: |
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If the room has a globe or a world mapy, find Finland on the map. That is where this story is set.
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Snow falls in the mountains, and you can see it on a clear day. Have you seen it up close? Where?
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Do you think mice really talk? How about, can reindeer fly?
Vocabulary:
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Mushrooms - fruiting bodies of fungus
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Courage - bravery
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Antlers - Hornlike protrusions that grow on the head of deer
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Pristine - perfectly clean, pure
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| Discussion topics for during/after reading: |
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Are you sad for Miika because he has no family?
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What are your favorite foods? For Mika it is mushrooms and cheese.
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What kind of families are there? Family of origin (mother, father, brother, sister) versus extended family or family of choice (grandparents, great aunts and great uncles, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, teachers)
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If someone is courageous, is it the same thing as being brave?
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| Craft ideas: |
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Write a card to your teacher to thank them for everything they have done for you this year.
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Write a thank you note to your mail delivery person. Stick it in your mailbox at home.
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Draw mice by starting with a narrow triangular point for a nose, and a semicircle for the back of the head. Add rounded ears, eyes, whiskers, and a little round nose at the tip.
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Draw reindeer. Be sure to include the antlers
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Make a mouse fingerpuppet.
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Make snowflakes from coffee filters or paper plates. Start by folding in eighths and cutting circles and diamonds out along the fold lines.
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Check our craft ideas on Pinterest!
https://www.pinterest.com/readingtokids/december-2023-family-the-spirit-of-giving/
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| Special activities: |
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Do the word search
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*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions.
You can use them, but you don't have to use them.
You can expand upon them, or add your own twist.
Remember, though, that the focus of your time should
not be on the development and execution of a craft;
the focus should be on the read-aloud and the
enjoyment of the book!
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