Common Sense Media Review
By Andrea Beach
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Series moves to middle school, tackles fear with humor.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
In BABYMOUSE TALES FROM THE LOCKER: LIGHTS, CAMERA, MIDDLE SCHOOL!, the popular elementary school series star takes a big step forward into middle school. Big changes can be scary, and middle school can be hard to figure out. As if that's not enough, pile on tons of homework, boring algebra, and big changes in friendships, too. Babymouse thinks fame is the answer to her problems, and signs up for the school's film club. But when the teacher makes her the director of their big movie, Babymouse finds out there's a lot more to making movies and being famous than she bargained for.
Is It Any Good?
The popular elementary school series takes a big step forward as the funny, engaging mouse of the title moves up and into the big, scary world of middle school. Babymouse Tales from the Locker: Lights, Camera, Middle School! grows up a little bit, too. Babymouse's signature pink is gone from the illustrations, which are all in black-and-white. There's more text, too, although it's still heavy on the lively, graphic novel-type drawings that make it a good choice for reluctant readers.
Babymouse sometimes makes mistakes as she faces the newer, bigger challenges of middle school. But she learns from them, turning her monster-movie life into a hilarious comedy. Fans of the original series will enjoy the plucky way Babymouse faces a brave new world. Readers new to the series will like the way the funny, relatable mouse tries to figure out middle school.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Babymouse Tales from the Locker: Lights, Camera, Middle School! makes middle school seem scary. What's scary about it? What can you do to make it not so scary?
Have you read any of the first Babymouse series? Is this book as good as those? Why, or why not? Which is your favorite?
Have you ever had to work on a group project? Did you have any problems like to the ones Babymouse has? What happened?
Book Details
- Authors :
- Illustrator : Matthew Holm
- Genre : Contemporary Fiction
- Topics : Arts , Book Characters , Friendship , School ( Middle School )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Random House Children's Books
- Publication date : July 4, 2017
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 208
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate