In the style of [b:Hugo Cabret|67593|The Invention of Hugo Cabret|Brian Selznick|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170676646s/67593.jpg|527941], this book features large pencil drawings that complement the text. The drawings are really wonderful in their detail and, I think, the most enjoyable part of the book. I also liked the little mouse Celeste herself. Though she never really came alive on the page, what we saw of her was lovable, and her journey to find a home and a friend is compelling.

Ok, now I'm done being nice. I have to say, right off the bat I was not a fan of the second half of the title. It's a little tacky to hit readers over the head with the themes of the book right up front. There are some good post-colon descriptions in the history of titles that sing (e.g. [b:The Tale of Despereaux|37190|The Tale of Despereaux Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread|Kate DiCamillo|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168855193s/37190.jpg|1508178]) but they have some playfulness going on. Henry Cole's choice of title addendum is both insulting, and even worse, false advertising. This little book does not live up to its subtitle.

Furthermore, it's strange for a book that is mostly about adorable animals to have such a gruesome side to it. Apparently, John James Audobon killed, and in some cases practically tortured, his feathered subjects. Ugh. I don't know who to give this book to. It would be upsetting to the little kids who would love its cuteness. Kids old enough to handle the dark stuff might be turned off the preciousness of it. ( )

Celeste is a mouse who is looking for a home. Is it nestled in the toe of a warm boot? In the shirt pocket of Celeste's new friend Joseph? Or is home the place deep inside Celeste's heart, where friendships live?

Beautifully illustrated with hundreds of black-and-white drawings, A Nest for Celeste is a short novel that tells the story a mouse living in the 1800s and her friendship with John James Audubon's young apprentice. While enjoying this sweet and appealing story, young readers will also learn about nineteenth-century plantation life and the famous naturalist who was known for his paintings of birds and American wildlife.

The author gives us the experience of what it might have been like when John James Audubon and his assistant Joseph stayed with a family. Audubon was an American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter who made extensive drawings and paintings of many american birds in their natural environment. This story portraits what life might had been before cameras and technology, therefore it is realistic and explains that most of the times the artist shot and used pins and wire to fabricate poses so he could take his time to paint them. The book becomes a valuable document that shows how things were different before.

The writing is great and I couldn't put it down.

This is a sweet story of Celeste a little mouse and friendship. Celeste lives in the same house where Audubon is staying for a while to paint his birds. Celeste has to deal with bully mice, a cat but is also rewarded with friendship with other birds and even with Joseph. It also makes you think about loss. Would you rather have not known a friend for a short time to avoid the pain of loss or would you rather remember the sweet short moments of happiness.

The illustrations are delightful and I might get my hands on a hardcover instead of a Kindle version for that when it's possible. ( )

There is a way to write a book about animals, and the first half of this book does it. Celeste is a mouse, there are also rats, but by the second half Celeste feels more and more like a tiny person, and not in the good way. Celeste feels stiff, she feels like a stand-by character. Her problems are small and sort of thrown aside for a pocket to watch animals killed and held together or in place by wires.

The last part of the above disregarded, this book is not for kids, the way it's written, the way some scenes drag on. As a bed time story this would likely do somewhat of a job, bore kids to sleep or confuse them to exhaustion. There are parts where I, as an adult sort of went "okay, but why" too long to be immersed into it anew. I set this book down often, and disregarded it for others due to the nature of its writing.

Celeste is less a mouse and more a small fairy, and the only saving grace is I enjoy the birds in the book, and would the rats, were they there for more than fifteen pages at best.

The end result is Celeste's problems are never really truly solved by Celeste, someone else does the work or fixes the problems for her. From the first rat bullying her to the second, she is not putting any work in and at best cleans and scavenges. Not a pleasant main character to read about.

The ending itself feels temporary, and seems to say "let go" of people whereas that is an improper message. A Nest for Celeste is more about replacing friends and not forming attachments than her ever finding a nest. ( )

The overall concept of this book is cute, and I enjoyed it. However, I worry about the age-appropriateness of this book. There are certain concepts within the book that I don't feel are appropriate for the age group that the book is geared for. My son was very upset about the killing and torture of animals. I had to explain it all to him, but I didn't really know what to say about the way they were treating the birds.

My son moved on pretty quickly from these topics, though, and did enjoy the book. He loved seeing what happened to Celeste and all her animal friends. Overall, 2 and a half stars ( )