By: Kazuo Iwamura
Originally Published In: Japan
Format: paperback
Language: Simplified Chinese
Pages per book: 30
Lines per page: 1 line
Price per book: $6.63
Audio book: read by Luka in Role Play Mode

Mouse Dad, Mouse Mom, Mouse Granddad, Mouse Grandmom, and 10 Mouse siblings...This is one big family of 14 forest mice!

When the now famed writer and artist Iwamura was 36 years old, he and his wife moved to live a quiet life in the remote countryside of Japan and he devoted himself to a detached creative life. Nature was his passion, and nature rewarded him with abundant inspiration as evidenced in his books and paintings. Since The 14 Forest Mice Book Series was published 30 years ago, it has became a must-read Japanese children's book and has sold 10 million copies worldwide. The Chinese version of the 7 Little Mice Series alone has sold 400,000 copies .

The simplicity of life, the warmth of a big family, the abundance of love, and the visual feast of mother nature portrayed in the exquisite, detailed illustrations invite young readers to spend hours pouring over the pages of Iwamura's works.

The 12 nostalgic stories follow the 14-mouse mice family through the 4 seasons, telling adorable stories of their daily life and adventures: cooking, picking berries, growing pumpkins, chasing dragonflies, etc....The simplicity of life, the warmth of a big family, the abundance of love, and the visual feast of mother nature portrayed in exquisitely detailed illustrations invite young readers to invest in the family fun and become as familiar with each mouse as they would be with a friend next door.

This is a great series for parents or teachers to practice "dialogic reading" with children. Every time you read, invite your child to make new discoveries in the detailed illustrations. How many mice can you see? Who is mouse sibling #1? Is this mouse brother #5? Where is the red dragonfly? What flowers do you recognize in this spring forest scene?

Each detailed fully illustrated page has one simple line of text making it a little simpler than its counterpart The 7 Little Mice 4-Book Set which has 3-6 lines of text for each page. Both sets' detailed illustrations serve as visual scaffolding allowing readers to infer meaning of unfamiliar words or phrases.

Book titles:

《14只老鼠大搬家》 The 14 Forest Mice's Big Move

《14只老鼠吃早餐》 The 14 Forest Mice's Breakfast

《14只老鼠挖山药》 The 14 Forest Mice Dig For Chinese Yam

《14只老鼠过冬天》 The 14 Forest Mice's Winter

《14只老鼠去春游》 The 14 Forest Mice's Spring Outing

《14只老鼠赏月》 The 14 Forest Mice and The Moon

《14只老鼠摇篮曲》 The 14 Forest Mice and The Lullaby

《14只老鼠种南瓜》 The 14 Forest Mice Plant Pumpkins

《14只老鼠捣年糕》 The 14 Forest Mice Make Rice Cake

《14只老鼠洗衣服》 The 14 Forest Mice Wash Clothes

《14只老鼠蜻蜓池塘》 The 14 Forest Mice and The Dragonfly Pond

《14只老鼠秋天进行曲》 The 14 Forest Mice's Autumn March

Is my child ready for this set?

"Read to me": Children ages 3+ will enjoy having these books read to them either by Luka® or a caregiver. PLEASE NOTE: Luka reads all of these books in "Role Play" Mode. Although most pages are read word-for-word, there are a few pages in each book where the narrator provides some additional detail not included in the text.

"Read by myself": Young readers 5+ who know about 500 Chinese characters will enjoy reading the stories with some assistance. with only one-line of text on each page, children may feel a great sense of accomplishment to read a big 30-page story.

Option to pair with Luka:

Consider adding Luka, the reading robot, to your order. Luka reads all 12 books included in this set, but, please note that Luka reads all books in this set in its "Role Play" mode instead of reading the entire book word for word, the narrator adds a little more detail on a few pages.

Set Luka in front of a book, and it will read aloud any page your child turns to-- creating a unique, independent physical book reading experience even if your child isn't ready to read by herself. Looking for a toy that is both cool and educational? Consider Luka!

In total, Luka reads 30,000 Chinese children's picture books and 6,000 English Children's books. Click to read our founders' personal review of Luka here.

Happy learning!