Thursday, April 2, 2009

Stuart Little by E.B. White

First sentence:

"When Mrs. Frederick C. Little's second son arrived, everybody noticed that he was not much bigger than a mouse."

Description:

"How terribly surprised the Little family must have been when their second child turned out to be a small mouse. Apparently familiar with the axiom that "when in New York City, anything can happen," the Littles accept young Stuart into their family unquestioningly--with the exception of Snowbell the cat who is unable to overcome his instinctive dislike for the little mouse. They build him a bed from a matchbox, and supply him with all of the accoutrements a young mouse could need. Mrs. Little even fashions him a suit, because baby clothes would obviously be unsuitable for such a sophisticated mouse. In return, Stuart helps his tall family with errant Ping-Pong balls that roll outside of their reach.

E. B. White takes Stuart on a hero's quest across the American countryside, introducing the mouse--and the reader--to a myriad of delightful characters. Little finds himself embroiled in one adventure after another from the excitement of racing sailboats to the unseen horrors of substitute teaching. This is a story of leaving home for the first time, of growing up, and ultimately of discovering oneself. At times, doesn't everyone feel like the sole mouse in a family--and a world--of extremely tall people? " -- from Amazon.com

My thoughts:

I don't know how many times I've read this book, but reading it again for the Childhood Favourites Reading Challenge was a joy. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I still laughed when I read about Stuart inside the piano, and I felt sad when his friend Margalo the bird left home.

Date read: 4/2/2009
Book #: 23
Challenge: Childhood Favourites Reading Challenge
Rating: 5*/5
Genre: Children's Literature

Publisher: Harper & Row
Year: 1945
# of Pages: 131
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing page

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