Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This was a fun little story about Mazzarella and his sister Fontina, they live with their granny in the cellar of a country church, where they have some of the best adventures ever. It was also where they learned their toughness lessons about honesty. It was a fun and educative book.

Mozzarella, little mouse living with his Grandmother and his sister Fontina. They found that their parents who left to meet their uncle in New York were lost. But, their uncle was determined to find them anyhow.
Then, to get them engage with other acts so that they did not to get downhearted, their Grandmother make them help her in making cheesecake. They fought while mixing flour and Mozzarella got that flour all over him. His li'l sister lied to Grandma to hide her mistake got Mozzarella took all the blame. But she realised it soon and went to make his brother happy by accepting her wrong doing and then Fontina confessed & apologized to both of them. Thereafter Grandma mouse made Mozzarella cut the cake and then they went to bed happily by complimenting each other for best siblings.

Moral was the 'Honesty in Character' and 'to always accept the mistakes we did rather than blaming others by intention or mistake'.

However, Mozzarella and Fontina's parents mystery seemed like an open loop as there is no clarity on there further existence and this book to be a series in becoming. Also, in last to recognise the Colors of Mozzarella's clothes is good exercise for the Italian learner but for others, Non-Italian readers, no answers given to learn the translated meanings in English.

This is good picture book. Background visuals were so better and colors filled in background images were soothing to eyes. Overall art was so good to enjoy.

An enchanting story of an Italian family of mice. Fontina and Mozzarella are brother and sister and with their sibling rivalry and antics, it becomes an engaging story for young readers. I actually loved the Italian undertones to this story. The moral of the story for the brother and sister is always tell the truth. Very good.

A special thank you to Books Go Social and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Mozzarella is a sweet picture book about a mouse family living in Italy. I thought the illustrations were really nice & loved the focus on Italian culture. The plot was a bit odd to me, and there was a lot going on for a children's picture book. I think it could have been pared down to focus on one story line much more.

That being said, there were some super fun elements & I enjoyed the characterizations of the mouse family. There were also cute activities at the end of the book to help kiddos pick up a few words of Italian.

Thanks to NetGalley, Jenna James, and BooksGoSocial for the chance to read and review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-Arc. All opinions here, are my own.

Mozzarella is a little mouse who lives in Italy with his nonna Di Ricotta and little sister, Fontina. Their parents are currently out in the world, in search for the great treasure, the Golden Bocconcini.

Okay so I had a laugh. There is so many references of food, cheese and Italian cruisin that I just burst into a huge laugh while reading this book. Jenna James truly love Italy. And I think this was a cute kind of book where the reader are introduced to cheese and Italy culture.
Of course the mouse Mozzarella don't only talk about food, nah. The theme is family and sibling relationship. Typically Italian family, they may nab but thats how it is sometimes. This is just an book with introduction

At the end of the book, there are some nice learning materials for the kids so they can learn the language, Italian. I had a blast.
Very short book and easy to read aloud. The illustrations were nice, but if you don't like rats or mouses, this may not be your cup of tea. They were also a bit similar to humans and that gave me some shivers... (not good shivers)

A short and sweet story about a family of mice in Italy. I enjoyed the story overall but it was very strange to see it end on a cliffhanger, I don't think I've ever seen that in a children's book and don't think it suits the genre. The nice characters are adorable and I loved the beautiful illustrations. I liked the cheesecake recipe that was included!

‘Mozzarella by Jenna James’ is a cute little story that initially draws readers in with its adorable cover. While it has its charming moments, the book ultimately falls short in some areas, particularly with its plot and engagement.

Plot: ★★★☆☆
The plot is somewhat lacking, as it tends to jump around and ends rather abruptly. While cliffhangers can be effective in adult literature, they are not typically suitable for children's picture books, which tend to have more resolved narratives. This lack of cohesion can make it difficult for young readers to fully engage with and follow the story.

Characters: ★★★★☆
The characters are very cute and relatable, particularly for young siblings. Despite being mice, their interactions and relationships are depicted in a way that children can easily connect with. These endearing characters are one of the book’s stronger points.

Illustrations: ★★★★★
The illustrations are gorgeous, featuring vibrant and cute artwork that brings the story to life. The visual appeal of the book is undeniable, with each page filled with delightful and engaging illustrations that will captivate young readers.

Engagement: ★★★☆☆
The book is not as engaging as it could be, largely due to its disjointed plot. The jumping around in the narrative makes it difficult for children to connect with the story, which can affect their overall enjoyment and engagement with the book.

Readability: ★★★☆☆
The readability of ‘Mozzarella’ is somewhat problematic, as it’s difficult to determine the target age range. The book presents a younger message and style, yet the language and reading level seem more suited to slightly older children. This inconsistency can make it challenging for parents and educators to choose the appropriate audience for the book.

Enjoyment: ★★★☆☆
Overall, ‘Mozzarella’ is an enjoyable read, but it does have its shortcomings. The adorable characters and stunning illustrations provide some level of enjoyment, but the disjointed plot and unclear target age range may hinder the overall reading experience.

‘Mozzarella’ by Jenna James is a charming story with cute characters and beautiful illustrations. However, its plot issues and readability challenges make it less effective as a children’s picture book. While it’s an enjoyable read with visual appeal, it may not fully satisfy young readers or their parents.

Cute little book about a family of mice. I love that they’re all named after different cheeses. I read this with my 4 and 6 year old and they enjoyed it. It has a nice message to the story - don’t tell lies. The illustrations were really pleasant looking. All in all, enjoyed.

I received this book for my seven year old daughter. We loved reading this story together. It was fun and cute and it’s one we will re read several times!

Thank you Netgalley for providing a copy of Mozzarella to read. This is a story of a young mouse who lives with his sister and grandmother. The plot is a bit confusing. It starts with the parents on an adventure but then abruptly ends and changes course to the siblings in the kitchen to make dessert. It wasn’t until the end that I think I understand a sequel will come and hopefully explain the parent’s adventure. The lesson the mice learn in the kitchen about being honest and taking responsibility for their actions is the bulk of the story, but the moral seemed lost within the plot. I really like the Italian setting and activities to expose kids to the Italian language.

This book was so adorable, it follows a family of mice in Italy with cheese-filled adventures and moments. I loved the sibling rivalry in this, I know it’s intended for younger readers, but oh man I was having a joy reading this.

I loved the Italian setting and illustrations in this. I giggled so much throughout this and loved every heartwarming moment. This is the perfect book for children wanting to giggle with some mice!

🧀 🐭 🇮🇹 🧀 🐭 🇮🇹 🧀 🐭 🇮🇹 🧀 🐭 🇮🇹

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with access to read this book!

The drawings were cute and the moral about honesty was a good one for kids. However, the plot was a little scattered with too many different story-lines. I think the writing could have been a bit shorter and more concise for a children's book. Kids will still enjoy the story and the baking with grandma!

What an interesting adventure! This was a cute and entertaining read. From the hills of Tuscany to the Statue of Liberty we follow the adventures of this mouse family. The cheese puns were fun and the story interesting. This book is entertaining but Zi found the illustrations a little hard. I would have preferred them a little softer (if that makes sense).

Thank you to Nightingale Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book for my students. This was a cute story, but I think it's too long for my speech students and a little confusing due to the formatting. Because of these points, I have to give this a 3 out of 5 stars.

When Mozzarella and Fontina’s parents leave for New York in search of a treasure, the little kids are left with their nonna. What ensues next includes mischief, squabbles and sone delicious cooking of a beloved dessert.

I would have totally loved it if the book was slightly longer and didn’t left on a cliffhanger. Now I have to wait for part 2 of the book. Phew!

Overall, good read and loved the illustrations.

Rating - 3.8/5

A big thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is a children's book. Mozzarella is a mouse who lives in a church with his grandmother. Set in Tuscany. This short story has no real ending. It felt like it was a chapter from a larger book. I found this to be an odd book, leaving me with more questions?! Where are his parents? 3 stars I imagine that this is the first in a connected series.

Weirdly short, this is just the first chapter of a larger story, sold as a stand-alone entity. We're with two mice, living in Tuscany with a grandmother, as their parents are in New York, but now missing. The purpose of this fragment of whatever mouse tale we're due to get is to set some mystery up, and for the kid mice to be distracted by the cooking of a cheesecake – which leads to sibling dispute. In a spoilerific way I'll say that gets resolved, but absolutely nothing about the full quest does, before we get some bonus Italian lessons and the cheesecake recipe.

The illustrations that are on every second page, alternating with about five lines of narrative for each text page, aren't that appealing, as they highlight the gangly hands and extended ears and snouts of the characters, while trying to dress them up in some peculiar humanoid way. And the version of this I saw suggested some better proof-reading for punctuation might be in order. All told, it's the incompleteness of this that marks it down – especially for the RRP asked for this we deserve a full story. A dollar or two a month for an ongoing subscription to this as e-books and it might have been closer to being worth recommending, but as it is it really isn't.

Thanks to Nightingale Books and NetGalley for providing a review copy ebook. This review of NOT spoilers free, so expect spoilers for the story ahead.

Jenna James's "Mozzarella" is, for me, a slightly confused story with big aspirations that come from a good place. Let's start with what I liked about the book. Part of the goal of "Mozzarella" is to give the opportunity for bilingual readers, or early readers interested in Italian as a language, a starting place to learn words and phrases. The story features a cast of characters named after mostly Italian cheeses, and a villain that uses a Dutch cheese for a name instead which I couldn't help but smile at. Everyday words and phrases from Italian are spread out among the book (nonna, bambini, grazie), and the inclusion of some activity pages at the back of the book that use both Italian and English is a very thoughtful addition that brings more words into the vocabulary. However, I believe a pronunciation guide (either as a seperate page, or by adding superscript pronunciation above the words the first time they appear, e.g. GRAT-ZI, BOK-ON-CHI-NI) would not only be helpful but is almost essential for young readers who do not have access to someone with knowledge of Italian.

Secondly, the artistic style calls to touchstones like the 2008 Universal Pictures adaptation of "The Tale of Despereaux" (orig. by Kate DiCamillo (2003), dir. Sam Fell, Rob Stevenhagen), with large expressive ears and similarly large facial features. Background work and non-character details are really where the visual work shines, with wide shots of Tuscany, snapshots of other well known cities, and well rendered map work filling the pages. Unfortunately, the visuals suffer a lack of varied palette work, or effective use of light and shade. In panels where there are multiple mid-toned or brown characters, it might be more effective to use a darker toned background, or opt for a different colour palette completely. This is not the case in many of the panels in the book, which leads to characters blending in with the background, or not drawing the eye as clearly as one might hope for in a children's book. The character of Nonna is a particular study in the need for variance in lighting, as her almost entirely neutral and brown toned character blends seamlessly into similarly toned background on multiple occasions. Visual art and artistic style is deeply subjective as a topic, and while I personally feel the character artwork is not to my taste or requires refining, it does work servicably in capturing the reader's attention and remains mostly consistent throughout.

The story is where I have some difficulty. Ostensibly, the story is about Mozzarella and his sister Fontina helping their grandmother Nonna di Ricotta to make a New York style cheesecake. The two children get into a squabble, Fontina lies saying it was Mozzarella's fault, who is then punished. Fontina, feeling remorseful, owns up to her mistake and is gently reprimanded, and Mozzarella is forgiven, leading to an effective life lesson for the main characters and the reader.

Crucially though, this is not where the story starts. This part of the story starts a third of the way into the book, preceded by a far more dense story surrounding the children's parents, who left their home to meet their grandfather Zio, who is also on a quest to reclaim a great treasure from an evil prince. Mozzarella's parents never arrived and are now missing, but Nonna believes Zio will find them in the end. You might imagine that this part of the story focusing on the loss of his parents, the indeterminacy of their return being a focus, leading to Mozzarella exploring his emotions about all of this compared to his sister and his Grandmother, using pictures and postcards sent by Zio as a framework for exploration, but instead of this James immediately barrels straight into a story about children learning to get along and tell the truth. The story never returns to these larger world concepts at all, ending on a cliffhanger, building towards future published stories. It all feels disjointed as a reading experience, the intrigue of the first part of the story is lost, and the heartwarming lesson that follows is completely lampshaded by the far denser lore implications of the opening. All of this against the backdrop of it being billed as an edu-tainment piece confuses things even further. It feels a little like this book is trying to be too many things at once, rather than focusing on being one or even two things really well.

As this is Mozzarella's first adventure into the traditionally published sphere, I hope to see these aspects of storytelling refined as his story grows in the telling, but it makes it very difficult to recommend this book straight out the gate to parents or guardians looking to introduce children to Italian language concepts in an engaging way. I believe that Mozzarella's adventures will be far more engaging the more titles in the series are released, but in it's current iteration I would suggest readers go in cautiously optimistic about his future, and be prepared for a lot of unanswered questions. It's worth noting that "Mozzarella" was originally published independantly, and was later picked up by Nightingale books, and is a full 18 pages longer in this version, which might have brought about some editorial changes between publication. Unfortunately after a short search I could not easily find an original copy to compare with, and the Amazon listing for the 2022 version has been removed. Whatever the case may be, I hope Jenna James's next dip into Mozzarella's life starts to answer some of the audiences questions, and lead to a more well rounded product for young readers to grab on to.

Love the meet the family at the beginning as it makes it clear who is who straight away. I enjoyed the way the words where on one side and the illustrations where on the other as it makes it visually appealing and easy to read the words.

Detailed illustrations especially on the postcard and airplane tickets. Great book for asking what, when, where, why, and how. ;ike the added recipe for New York cheesecake at the back would be a great activity for students after reading the book.