The Mouse and His Child: Amazon.ca: Russell Hoban: Books

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Product Description

From Amazon.com

Like so many exceptional children's books, Russell Hoban's The Mouse and His Child clearly wasn't intended only for kid consumption. It certainly qualifies as a fantastic story for children: the characters are entertaining and memorable, the images powerful, the pacing tight, and the message unique and lasting. But this sweet, melancholy fable about a wind-up pair of tin mice--a dancing father and son joined at the hands--explores so many different themes of hope, perseverance, transformation, and the nature of existence (while still managing to be quite funny at times) that it's the sort of book that demands to be kept around for a lifetime of rereading.

The father and son's redemptive quest to become "self-winding" takes them through all sorts of trials, from the toy store to the dump to the swamp and back again, and all along the way the pair runs afoul of Hoban's well-realized and often menacing menagerie of characters, including the slave-driver Manny Rat, the distracted thinker Muskrat, and Crow and Mrs. Crow and their Caws of Art Experimental Theatre Group. (These last provide some of the best scenes in the book, getting a surprising amount of philosophical meat out of a play called The Last Visible Dog: "What doesn't it mean! There's no end to it--it just goes on and on until it means anything and everything, depending on who you are and what your last visible dog is.")

If you're only familiar with Russell Hoban from his Frances books (Bread and Jam for Frances), this gripping, sometimes disturbing, occasionally even violent novel might come as something of a surprise. But if you've read any of Hoban's later work, like Pilgermann or The Moment Under the Moment, then you know what this sophisticated and extraordinarily graceful writer is capable of, and why The Mouse and His Child deserves praise as one of the more profound children's works ever written. (Ages 9 to adult) --Paul Hughes --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Since its publication in 1967, book lovers have lauded Russell Hoban's The Mouse and His Child. Now 2001 Caldecott Medalist David Small's haunting charcoal-and-ink illustrations energize and elevate this moving tale of two toy mice that come to life.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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First Sentence
THE TRAMP was big and squarely built, and he walked with the rolling stride of the long road, his steps too big for the little streets of the little town. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Mouse and His Child, Nov 5 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mouse and His Child (Hardcover)

Rusted and stuck on the bottom of a lake, and you can't get out until you've seen the last visible dog. That is just one thing the father and his son have to over come. They see war, death, happiness, cold, evil, and then finally the son sees the last visible dog. A tin of dog food saved the lives of the tin mice. Father and son thought that they would never leave the doll house in the store, and the elephant, until they were bought, wrapped up in tissue paper, and put under the Christmas tree to dance. It wasn't a bad life, well, they were put up in an attic until Christmas came again, and then they would do the thing that they were meant to do, dance and never get tired. Everything would have been fine except that the son was not happy . He was upset that the elephant and the doll house weren't with him, and where was his sister seal that had also spent time comforting him in the toy store? Finally he couldn't take it, he did what he was never supposed to do, cry. That's all it took for the tabby cat to attack them and destroy the gears that make them do that dance. Garbage day came and when it went, they went with it. Then, by chance, a tramp saved them. This book is a work of beautiful fantasy, weaving in things that many authors would leave out.
The Mouse and His Child involved many quirky characters. There was the evil Manny rat who used wind-up toys for slaves, uncle frog who was future seer and a fortune teller, a company of woodland actors/actresses who changed their name every year. Elephant, who once had a beautiful costume and always has an elegant attitude, sister seal, who balanced a ball on her head and spun, then last but not least comes the best of all, the mouse and his child. Father mouse puts up with what happens, and does his best to keep his son happy, but several times he is on the brink of giving up, that's when his son saves him. The Mouse's son is always happy , ready to try again, and doesn't know what it means to give up, he wants a real family and is ready to do everything to get that.
I thought this book was fabulously done, involving situations that bring you tears, but just as you get ready to cry, something good happens. It is my opinion that if anyone is interested in a classic then they need to read this. The story brings to life all of these wonderful wind-up toys. Even if you don't realize it at first you come to see that there is a moral to this book, in fact there is more than one. This particular book is filled with little things to figure out life, for example, "why times what equals how" and other much-in-little equations. Russell Hoban writes it perfectly, but to top it off, there are illustrations that you wouldn't believe. They prove that this book is more then a story of survival, but of something much more, you need to read it to find out. I'll give you one clue to the meaning of the story, a can of Bonzo dog food.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Problem of Perpetual E-Motion!, Feb 16 2003

By	Plume45 "kitka12345" (Westchester, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mouse and His Child (Hardcover)

Mechanical toys can not move by themselves--must less think, feel or dream, yet Hobans' father-son performing team proves much more than wind-up toys. Seeking definition, direction and three-dimensional existence, the mouse child asks his father what they are. The patient father replies that he does not know either, but advises his son to wait and see--hardly a satisfactory answer for an eager youth. Their world at first is limited to a toyshop, with its dollhouse and plush elephant.

Stoic advice for two wind-ups who are very close--indeed, they are permamently joined at arms' length, so that they can perform an amusing, circular dance--until they run down. But when they break the Rules of Clockwork, they themselves are broken by careless children and trashed. Yet that is really just beginning of their sylvan and aquatic odyssey, as they launch forth into the callous world outside the protective Christmas Home.

Besides, the mouse child has a dream: to find a real home and a family of his own, while his gentle father just wants to protect the son. They will be victimized by various animal riffraff, for they encounter actors, con artists, militia, philosophers and brilliant engineers. Oh yes, there is a ubiquitious human tramp who acts as the Deux ex Machina for the patient pair.

This book contains humor, pathos, surprise twists of fate, noble dreams and crushing defeats as the mouse duo labors in slow motion throughout their inexorable fate, but do they hane the right to choose that destiny or must they accept what the world has decreed for them? Are they meant to cower in terror all their lives, to depend on others to keep them activated, or to slave for Manny rat, the king of the dump? How will these long-suffering beings (for they ceased to be mere toys long ago) achieve the dual freedoms of perpetual movement And self-determination? Do toys deserve the right to pursue their own happiness? Not really meant for teens only,
this thoughtful yet amusing book will both charm and entertain children of all ages.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A quest story for the young and old, Nov 25 2002

By	Richard E. Adams (Kent, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Mouse and His Child (Hardcover)

I want to add my own voice to those praising this book. It is a wonderful story about perseverance, love of family and friends, and a search for the things that make us happy. The story is essentially a quest by a father and his child to find a place to call home, a family, and, most importantly, self-determination. Along the way, they have to overcome Manny Rat who wants to kill them, survive war and hypercritical theater critics, a deal with a snapping turtle, and a help a Muskrat search for the elusive "X" of life. The writing and characterization are topnotch. Yes, there are places in the book where animals die and Hoban does not shy away from these aspects of life. In my view, however, these events only add to the power of the story. At times, very funny and very sad, this is a story for both those who are young and young at heart. Highly recommended.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful for both adults and children
I want to add my own positive review to the others. This book is essentially a quest story. The mouse and his child start their lives in a toy store next to a beautiful toy... Read more

Published on Nov 22 2002 by Richard E. Adams

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark but rewarding
It's good to see "The Mouse and His Child" back in print, especially in a beautiful edition like this one, with fine quality paper and superb illustrations by the ever-talented... Read more

Published on Dec 19 2001 by kennedy19

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic restored
I first read this book in my twenties and have enjoyed reading it again in my forties. As a children's librarian, I have been recommending this book for decades. Read more

Published on Dec 16 2001 by R. Riis