Benjamin and Bumper to the Rescue

August 23, 2010
Creatively composed photographs are the highlight of this distinctive picture book, the publisher's inaugural release. Coxe, the author of several early readers, made the stuffed animal characters by hand and designed the miniature sets, which were photographed by Toppin, who adeptly manipulates lighting and perspective. The plot, while straightforward, should satisfy kids who thirst for adventure. When Benjamin's mother goes missing, the worried mouse ventures out of the wardrobe that is their home to solicit the help of Bumper, a stuffed elephant "who lived on the bed." Pantry mice advise them that Benjamin's mother has gone to the garden, where Sir Pouncelot the cat is hunting for his dinner. Benjamin and Bumper outsmart the feline to rescue the captured mouse, who serves up a feast to keep the cat from future pouncing. The full-bleed photographic tableaux overflow with mouse-size toys, matchstick ladders, and other delicate details that give the book the feel of a very large epic on a very small scale. As in Dare Wright's The Lonely Doll, given the characters' unchanging facial expressions, their emotions are conveyed visually through varied poses. Ages 4–8.