Sorry this one is a little late; I was sleeping over at my best friend’s house. I got a little verklempt thinking about this topic. I had a lot of favorite books as a child, but one stood out above all the others. It was called Alexander and the Magic Mouse, published in 1969 by Martha Sanders with illustrations by Phillipe Fix. It came through the Weekly Reader Children’s Book Club (THANKS, MOM!!! :) ) and was one of a series of magnificent books I was exposed to as a result of my membership.
The book is about a little Old Lady who lived at the top of a hill in a glorious Victorian era mansion, and her house overlooked a town. She was a traveler, and in her youth (When she was a Younger Lady, natch), she brought back animal friends to live with her; a Brindle London Squatting Cat, a Magical Mouse, an Alligator from China and a Tibetan Yak (Yes, she went to the A.A. Milne School of Capitalization).
The book is about a little Old Lady who lived at the top of a hill in a glorious Victorian era mansion, and her house overlooked a town. She was a traveler, and in her youth (When she was a Younger Lady, natch), she brought back animal friends to live with her; a Brindle London Squatting Cat, a Magical Mouse, an Alligator from China and a Tibetan Yak (Yes, she went to the A.A. Milne School of Capitalization).
Anyway, the magical mouse foretells of a month of rains that will surely wash out the town below when the river floods, and they try to send a note to the mayor via the alligator, who is, being an alligator, shunned and feared. A boy gets past the fear, delivers the message, and the town is saved. Simple plot, for it is a child’s book.
But it is so much more than that. The book is elegantly written, with a gentle, formal kindness in its tone; with characters that respect themselves and one another (Well, except for the Brindle London Squatting Cat; who is, after all, a cat). Almost fifty years removed from that childhood, I can say now that the book dealt with many issues critical to the formative years of a child: Respect, love, kindness, sacrifice, xenophobia, fear (and overcoming it), tolerance, and moody cats too. The illustrations are glorious in their complexity, depth, and whimsy.
But it is so much more than that. The book is elegantly written, with a gentle, formal kindness in its tone; with characters that respect themselves and one another (Well, except for the Brindle London Squatting Cat; who is, after all, a cat). Almost fifty years removed from that childhood, I can say now that the book dealt with many issues critical to the formative years of a child: Respect, love, kindness, sacrifice, xenophobia, fear (and overcoming it), tolerance, and moody cats too. The illustrations are glorious in their complexity, depth, and whimsy.
I’m happy to say that after 47 years, I still have this book and many of its outstanding fellows from the Weekly Reader Children’s Book Club. The sewn binding is tired, and pages are stained, and I love it as much now as I did then; maybe even more. I’m holding this piece of my history in my hand, a tear in my eye, and I have to thank my Mom for her incredible foresight in holding onto these books and giving them back to me as a grownup, so that Abby could experience and love them too.
If you have a kid aged 4-7ish, I strongly recommend you seek this book out, and the ones like it. I actually found it on Amazon!
Other books like it that I loved nearly as much:
If you have a kid aged 4-7ish, I strongly recommend you seek this book out, and the ones like it. I actually found it on Amazon!
Other books like it that I loved nearly as much:
- The Summerfolk by Doris Burn
- Andrew Henry’s Meadow by Doris Burn
- We Were Tired of Living in a House, by Liesel Moak Skorpen
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