Jan Brett’s version of the classic anecdote of Town Mouse Country Mouse takes on a new appearance in the creative, gifted hands of Jan Brett. She introduces Readers to two appealing mice duos keen to move away from the humdrum of their normal lives.
It is when they decide to exchange homes, that they are thrust into unforeseen ventures around every corner.
Each two-page spread is packed with vitality, color and vigor. The country mice and their lovely town house are introduced first. Their primary worry is the cat who prowls the house determined to locate mice for his next meal.
The town mouse tells his wife of the countryside where he was born; it sounds to be a perfect place to picnic and visit at least for a while.
Next Readers meet the country mice who spend their time avoiding the owl who wants to eat them as they search for food for themselves. Their home is a tree log festooned with mushrooms.
The town mice set out with a picnic lunch to spend the day in the quiet solitude of the country. This two-page spread bears the features so often found with Jan Brett works; a margin illustration along with a larger depiction of the main story line.
The town mice and country mice meet and resolve they will trade homes. Each of them believed they got the better end of the swap, the town house is gorgeous, equipped with beautiful furnishings, the countryside is calm, open sky and lovely.
Soon each duo realizes that the strange surroundings hold many surprises that they were not prepared for. It doesn’t take long before they begin to realize that what had seemed to be so idyllic may not be quite so tranquil afterall.
A near miss with the cat as well as one with birds out in the country cause the mice to reconsider a bit as they realize they knew what to expect in their old homes, while they are no so sure what might be next in the new.
Mouse Traps, sounds they cannot identify, food they scent but cannot locate, River Otters, a Badger, frogs, hedgehogs rolled in balls barring the door, a hungry fox, and before long each pair of mice is racing for home.
Just in time the famished owl stalking the town mice and resolute, clumsy cat chasing the country mice meet as a sensational zenith sends the mice sprinting toward their own homes; the cat and the owl face off in a shocker meeting permitting each mouse pair to avoid being caught and dash home again.
The naïve mice evade one calamity after another in this tale filled with wit and more than a little confusion. I particularly enjoyed the surprise ending as owl and cat contemplate a fascinating, albeit thought provoking possibility.
Sumptuous verdant country scenes interchange with the graceful minutiae of a pleasant Victorian town house, causing this work to be a delightfully gorgeous picture book.
Jan Brett’s wonderfully illustrated children’s books are ones adults enjoy reading to children quite as much as children enjoy hearing them read. The illustrations are so detailed, fit text to perfection and are just plain beautiful to see.
Osage County First Grade particularly enjoy Jan Brett books. I find the books to be well done, and am happy to recommend for classroom and home reading book shelf. Jan Brett books are a nice first day of school gift for the class on first day of school, as well as birthday gifting a special emergent reader.
Kindle Paper Back Hard Cover Audio Cassette
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Reviewed by: MOLLY REVIEWS BOOKS molly martin
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AMAZON BIOGRAPHY About the Author With over thirty four million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.
As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."
