Books at Bedtime: The Mouse and His Child
Late 2011 marked the passing of writer, Russell Hoban. I was familiar with Hoban’s childrens’ books, mostly the Frances ones, but when I read his obituary I discovered he’d written a novel for children called The Mouse and His Child (text, 1967, illustrations by David Small, 2001, Arthur A. Levine Books, 2001.) Curious about this book, I went to the library and got it out. The novel is about a wind-up mouse and his child bought from a shop, enjoyed for a few Christmas’ and then abandoned. It is at the point of the toys’ abandonment that the story really begins — the toys’ must fend for themselves in a rather cruel and forbidding environment outdoors.
The Mouse and His Child (previously reviewed by Marjorie a few years ago) is one of those novels that operates on several levels at once. For my daughter, listening to the story as I read it aloud on our long drive westwards for our Christmas holidays, the story was essentially about a toy mouse and his child, trying to reunite with the original ‘family’ of their toy shop days and evading the devious trickery of one particularly villainous rat. This basic plot kept my daughter engaged in listening even as other tempting devices like the IPad and the portable DVD player vied for her attention. For my husband and I, the story was so much more. Irresistibly existential in its peregrinations, unpredictable in its outcome, brilliant in its characterization, The Mouse and His Child was a deeply satisfying read-aloud for us. It’s one of those books ostensibly for children, but also very much for adults. It’s a book well worth re-reading perhaps at different stages in a child’s life. I’d certainly be willing to revisit its pages again. The book was made into a movie in 1977 but I’d try the novel first before going to its film version. The Mouse and His Child is a true children’s literature classic and I highly recommend it.
January 18th, 2012 at 5:22 am
Oh, I just ordered it! Thank you. I’m looking for a next-read aloud to our children, and this just may be it. It’s wonderful to rediscover an author I just knew through Frances. a.
January 18th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
It’s nice to be reminded of this superbly written book – I was just thinking as I read your post, actually, we could read it again, I’m sure the boys would get as much and more out of it second time around – and you took the words out of my mouth! What a glorious way to spend a long drive!
January 18th, 2012 at 7:24 pm
I love those Frances the badger books so much and I am so happy that my kids do too. Sounds like the original Toy Story!
January 20th, 2012 at 9:53 am
Hi all, yes, do read the book. It’ll definitely expand your ideas about Hoban’s writing and imagination beyond Frances, so to speak.
January 29th, 2012 at 1:12 am
The RSC here in the UK are turning it into a musical apparently. I love, love this book. My dad read it to me and I haven’t yet been brave enough to start reading it to my own pair as they’re possibly still a bit young; and it’s a bit raw for me: I read the extract at the end about the clockwork father’s springs slowly winding down at my father’s memorial service. A hefty emotional punch.
January 29th, 2012 at 1:55 am
Polly, I didn’t know that about the RSC – that’s great news. I read it to my boys when they were 9/10 and 7 1/2. It worked well as a readaloud becaue we could stop and discuss things – as I said in my post that Sally links to above, there were a number of words we looked up topgether in the dictionary as well. It’s such a vivid book, they still talk about it (they’re now 13 and nearly 11); and they’ve decided they’d like to have it read to them again this year. It’s beautiful that the book was such a connection between you and your dad and when you do read it with your children, it will no doubt become a very special book for them too, in its own right and because of what it meant to you and your dad.