Mousetropolis

June 22, 2015
Christie (Sugar Hill: Harlem’s Historic Neighborhood) presents a stripped-down version of Aesop’s “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” that brings the fable into the present day. City Mouse decamps to visit his “country cousin” after a bad night’s sleep in his apartment; readers see the brown mouse clutching two pillows to his ears while music streams from the turntables at a neighbor’s all-night party. The theme of music carries through Christie’s retelling: Country Mouse takes City Mouse to a jug-band jamboree, and when the mice return to the city together, dancers fill a subway platform—until a cat sends the mice scattering. While Aesop’s original favored the quiet, safe country life, Christie’s version is in line with adaptations that recognize the pros and cons of both settings. On the way to and from the jamboree, City Mouse is unnerved by the owls watching them. “This seems dangerous,” he says. “It is,” responds his cousin. “Keep walking.” Vivid acrylic paintings confer a dancer’s grace on the mice, whether they’re traversing a vast field or looking out on a ruddy sea of buildings. Ages 4–8.

June 15, 2015
A 21st-century update to Aesop's enduring fable finds cousins City Mouse and Country Mouse spending time in each other's locale to realize that they both prefer life at home. Flowing acrylic-based gouache illustrations give this retelling a modern twist. Alternating between Mousetropolis and the countryside, the tale opens with City Mouse, who is annoyed with the incessant loud noise of the city. Receiving a letter from his cousin Country Mouse, City Mouse seizes upon the rural vacation opportunity. Although he lets loose at the farmhouse jamboree, City Mouse finds it hard to adjust to the eerily "quiet" surroundings. The food is different, the natural sounds and silences are creepy, and City Mouse can't shake the feeling of being watched. They agree to a new plan. Country Mouse and City Mouse jump a train to the city. There's dancing in the subways, ample food, and phalanxes of device-attached mice doing "important things"-and back home goes Country Mouse. Christie utilizes appealingly mouse-based language-"quicker than a mouse can nibble through a wheel of provolone"-to tell his story, and he carefully acknowledges the dangers of country life as well as those of the city. The illustrations effectively depict the dislocated mice's subjective impressions of each setting; the tilt of an eyebrow communicates emotion. A welcome addition to any folk-tale collection, this clever retelling and its warm, embracing illustrations demonstrate the enduring appeal of this classic tale. (Picture book/folk tale. 4-8)

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Starred review from August 1, 2015

Gr K-2-A retelling of Aesop's "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse." After a letter arrives from his country cousin, City Mouse, unwilling to tolerate the noise emanating from a neighboring apartment in Mousetropolis, decides to vacation in the country. There are humorous touches in the brief text, but it is the illustrations, executed in acrylic gouache, that make this version a delight. A striking scene depicts the cousins hurrying through the woods to attend a jamboree where they will dance accompanied by mice playing a washboard, jug, and homemade bass. Spidery black tree limbs tower over them, and text reading, "Whoooooooooooo!" stretches across the page. Several spreads later, that sound-maker, his large yellow eyes staring out at readers, appears front and center. When Country Mouse becomes disenchanted with his quiet life, City Mouse, unimpressed with country food and fearful of that owl, joins him in a decision to leave for the city. With their huge ears and big black eyes, they each fill a page as they arrive at "the same idea." As they travel atop a red train, large predominantly black and green diagonal brush strokes suggest rapidly disappearing scenery. Station entertainers, "busy mice" in suits and ties holding phones and tablets, and the owl's counterpart-a large cat that sends everybody scurrying-are all part of the city scenes. Ultimately both mice determine that their own environment is "home," but it is left to readers to formulate the fable's moral. VERDICT A wonderful rendering that should be part of every folktale collection.-Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Greenwich, CT

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
Preschool-G Award-winning illustrator Christie brings The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse into the twenty-first century using gouache paintings as vibrant and energetic as the mice themselves. City Mouse needs a vacation from the noise of Mousetropolis and sets off to visit Country Mouse for some relaxation. Soon, however, City Mouse has second thoughts. Despite the fun of a banjo jamboree, it's too quiet, and he has the unnerving feeling of being watched! (He is, by an owl.) Country Mouse joins his cousin for a trip back to the city, and they are delightfully depicted riding atop the train, hurtling past blurry treetops. The excitement doesn't stop once they reach Mousetropolis: there's dancing in the subway station, rich foods to eat, and mice in conservative suits doing important things on their smartphones. When a cat appears, everyone scatters: Quicker than a mouse can nibble through a wheel of provolone, Country Mouse was back in the country. Just when you think there are enough fables to fill every library, a reimagining like this one comes along to enchant young and old alike.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)