The Somewhat True Adventures of Sammy Shine

January 25, 2016
“Flying is... amazing,” says Sammy Shine, a pet mouse turned test pilot, and the hero of this exuberant animal adventure. “You see the world as a leaf on top of the tallest tree would see it. You see the sky from edge to edge. You see how big things are. And how tiny you are.” The rodent’s adventures turn dangerous, however, when he crashes in the Great Woods and loses his plane. In order to get home, Sammy and his new friends from the mouse kingdom must find and fix the Spirit of Sammy before Mustela, an evil weasel, takes it for his own purposes. Though bookended by encounters with human characters, Sammy’s story is largely set in the richly imagined world of the Great Woods, and Cole’s (A Nest for Celeste) soft pencil illustrations feature beautiful botanical detail and an appealing and expressive animal cast. The classic story arc, large typeface, and frequent illustrations make this tale an excellent fit for younger chapter book readers, who will hope this isn’t the last they’ll see of Sammy Shine. Ages 8–12.

February 1, 2016
Sammy, a clever pet mouse, lives a contented life until his owner's brother kidnaps him to serve as pilot for a remote-controlled plane. Then his adventures begin. The plane gets away from the boy and crashes into distant woods, where Sammy encounters a community of mice, including a helpful young female, Phoebe. After his damaged plane--his only means to get back home--goes missing, he sets out to find Goggles, a raccoon rumored to have great ideas but who can only be reached after a long journey. Along the way, Sammy's joined by a crow that can't fly, a newt, a shrew, and finally, Phoebe. Their quest is threatened by an evil weasel and his wily band of rats. Characters are only thinly developed, and the story is just mildly suspenseful. It is so brief (despite page count) the potential dangers simply don't get expanded upon enough to feel truly threatening. But the illustrations lift this effort above the pack. Cole's soft, delicately shaded black-and-white artwork appears on nearly every spread, with numerous double-page spreads. The realistic woodland scenes populated with slightly anthropomorphized creatures beg for closer study. Although no one will doubt the eventual outcome, since Sammy is way too cute to fail, this amusing tale will serve well as an early chapter book or read-aloud. (Fantasy. 7-10)

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June 1, 2016

Gr 3-5-In this spare middle grade novel, an unassuming mouse named Sammy gets the ride of a lifetime when he's stolen from his human owner and used as the test pilot for a remote-controlled plane. Disbelief is suspended as readers travel with Sammy over the treetops, ultimately crash landing into the Great Woods some distance away from home. After climbing out of the wreckage, the rodent encounters a kingdom of mice who initially revere Sammy's powerful aviation skills. Sammy also learns about the mice's mortal enemy, a power-hungry weasel named Mustela. When his downed plane "mysteriously" disappears, it's up to Sammy and his motley crew of forest critters-Blackie, a crippled crow; Grace, a snarky newt; and Peewee, a perpetually hungry shrew-to locate and repair the Spirit of Sammy before it falls into nefarious claws. There is some mild suspense when Sammy and his crew's quest is endangered by Mustela and his gang of vermin. Stunning pencil illustrations complemented by gorgeously detailed passages about the natural surroundings are particularly standout elements. Unfortunately, these are undermined by a cliched plot and weakly imagined characters. While this novel seems to be aimed at younger readers, odd moments such as Mustela's creepy advances toward the mouse princess, Phoebe ("He strolled over to Phoebe and brushed her face, stroking her whiskers. She slapped his paw away, furious") seem too mature for the target audience. VERDICT Beautiful illustrations and sometimes stellar prose still don't get this illustrated novel off the ground.-Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido Public Library, CA

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