Small Mouse Big City
Country Mouse is going on an adventure! He’s leaving his quiet countryside to stay with his friend in the Big City. But when Country Mouse looks across the rooftops and sees the green hills of his home, he begins to feel sad.
This book is beautifully illustrated, the drawings are stunning, and clever too. They are used in lots of different ways to help tell the story with some pages having four or even eight drawings and others having one picture on a full two page spread. I particularly like the depiction of the big city as small mouse sees it, you have to turn the book round so it is vertical and mouse is tiny, standing at the bottom looking up at the enormous sky scrapers, it even makes me feel small! It seems to resonate with a child’s eye view of the world too.
Once you have finished admiring the pictures there is also a sweet and thought provoking story. It encompasses many ideas; what it means to have a friend, sharing experiences, being afraid, being lonely, doing something new, going on holiday. Mouse discovers many things on his visit to the city and a younger child can relate to lots of them, and might like to talk about them. However this might make it a book to read when you have a bit of time, even more so if you have a child like mine who loves to ask ‘why?’. This story isn’t necessarily one for a quick bedtime read.
The heart of the message of this tale is that it is great and exciting to have, and specifically share, new experiences, but it is at least equally important to come home. This enables children to safely explore their feelings about going away and returning home again. It is an old idea, but told in a fresh way.
Verdict: This book may not be read repeatedly by your child, but when it is picked up it will definitely be enjoyed.
Reviewed by Helen
