The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
Retellings of Aesop’s Fables are not uncommon. This is a particularly handsome one, and it does not make the story cute or funny, but rather thought provoking and relatable. The Country Mouse here is a little brown fellow who lives his quiet life in a forest that bursts with flora and fauna—but he also knows that in the winter there is hunger, and at all times, danger. After his sleek cousin, the City Mouse, comes to visit, the tales of sumptuous food and clean surroundings make Country Mouse less satisfied. When Ward brings Country Mouse to the city, it is the noisy New York of a bygone era, at its most festive time, Christmas. City Mouse’s apartment is full of presents and holiday feasts, but there’s danger here, too, in the form of a pug that makes Country Mouse see home in a new light. The abundance of New York is as lush in its own way as the forest; both country and city provide a visual treat for young eyes. But it’s the time-honored message about knowing where you belong that resonates. Grades K-2. --Ilene Cooper