The Country Mouse and the City Mouse

Abstract

The back cover advertises this and the other books of this series as award-winning motivational character-building picture books. The overall series, Sommer-Time Story Series, has won over forty national awards. The front cover promises fun but mentions also cheerfulness, appreciation, and peacefulness. This version of the story follows a regular pattern according to which the city mouse declares himself dissatisfied with the country alternative, and the country mouse says that he is eager to experience the city alternative. The pattern touches trees versus lawns and flowers, a tree house versus a mansion, one living room versus the other, seeds versus city food, and a straw bed versus the city's alternative. A nice finishing touch in the country visit is the country mouse's last minute offer of some freshly caught beetles! Because of a dog, the city mouse has to hurry and then crawl through a hole into his house; the country mouse has never experienced that kind of entry before. Noe's style emphasizes heads and their expressions. Perhaps his best picture here shows country mouse standing eagerly before cheese in a trap, while city mouse comes screaming up from a distance (29 and 1). A home with peace and safety is a much, much better place to live in than a house with plenty and danger (32). This particular series, Sommer-Time Story Classics, contains some twelve fable books. This library edition has a cloth reinforced binding and is very sturdy. There are also video and read-along versions of these books with sound effects, and there are free online helps too.