When I first saw today's read, I wasn't sure it would be quite what I was looking for. I'll admit, while I adore history and such, there aren't many books out there, which can hit a historical figure and bring them across in a way that middle graders will really enjoy...unless the readers just happen to be looking for that kind of thing. In other words, I find that these books tend to be for a niche audience or better for the learning end of things. So, I hesitated on this one but something about it made me want to give it a chance.
Will I regret it or, maybe, I'll be won over? It turns out there's an entire series with similar books, so I could be headed into an entire row of reads to pick up and explore. Let's find out if this one is a winner or not!
(Note: This one is going onto my possible favorites of the year list. After my first thoughts, I had to smile about that, too.)
EARHART
The Incredible Flight of a Field Mouse Around the World
by Torben Kuhlmann
Illustrated by David Henry Wilson
NorthSouth Books
Middle Grade Fiction
128 pages
ages 8 to 12
COMING MAY 13th!!!
The latest tale in award-winning author and illustrator Torben Kuhlmann’s Mouse Adventures series takes flight with the courage and spirit of aviation pioneers.
For the field mice, the boundary of the garden is the edge of the world. But one little field mouse is determined to discover the wide world beyond the burrow—even if she isn’t supposed to fly. With her knack for engineering and help from an experienced mouse aviator, she defies the other field mice and sets off on a daring journey. Could it be that she inspired Amelia Earhart’s pioneering aviation career?
Amelia Earhart dreamed of becoming a pilot after she attended an airshow, and went on to defy gender barriers when she became the first female to fly non-stop across the Atlantic. Torben Kuhlmann’s masterfully rendered illustrations and gripping story, inspired by Earhart, encourage young readers to pursue their passions–despite all obstacles.
Includes nonfiction backmatter: a biography of Amelia Earhart, a description of her infamous flight and the myths around it, and a timeline of other successful flights around the world!
“Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” –Amelia Earhart
For the field mice, the boundary of the garden is the edge of the world. But one little field mouse is determined to discover the wide world beyond the burrow—even if she isn’t supposed to fly. With her knack for engineering and help from an experienced mouse aviator, she defies the other field mice and sets off on a daring journey. Could it be that she inspired Amelia Earhart’s pioneering aviation career?
Amelia Earhart dreamed of becoming a pilot after she attended an airshow, and went on to defy gender barriers when she became the first female to fly non-stop across the Atlantic. Torben Kuhlmann’s masterfully rendered illustrations and gripping story, inspired by Earhart, encourage young readers to pursue their passions–despite all obstacles.
Includes nonfiction backmatter: a biography of Amelia Earhart, a description of her infamous flight and the myths around it, and a timeline of other successful flights around the world!
“Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” –Amelia Earhart
MY TIDBITS
Get ready for adventure because this little mouse is about to go where no mouse has gone before.
This book is only one of...oh, I don't know how many books centered around historical moments, which set san adorable mouse as the main character. I picked this read up unaware of the series, and that's no problem since these are made as stand-alones. I will be heading back to discover some of the other tales, though, since it is really a delightful read.
A little field mouse dreams of discovering the world beyond its burrow and receives inspiration from a tale about a mouse, who once flew to a far away place itself. After seeing amazing places around the globe on stamps, the mouse takes one on its back and heads out to see if its truly possible to visit far away places. Especially the giant cats in Africa seem like something worth seeing...if they truly exist. The journey leads to unexpected places and has the mouse meeting interesting characters. There's danger, disappointment, unexpected surprises, and experiences which make the heart soar. But the goal of flying to Africa isn't one easily achieved, and every step forward could be the mouse's last.
I'm simply going to gush over my favorite part of this read right away: the illustrations. Middle grade books tend to be packed with words, where illustrations remain on the sideline at best. This book turns that trend on its head. Each page radiates with capturing scenes, filled with details and love. The artwork is carefully done and visually adds so much depth and information to each moment. It's a treat to simply pick the book up and soak in each one.
The text is well set for the middle grade audience or as a read-aloud for slightly younger audiences (but it will take several sessions to get through this read that way). The chapters are short but grabbing. While it might first appear that this might work for chapter book readers, the vocabulary and sentences are fitting to the slightly older reading group. While the illustrations carry much of the world-building visually, the text concentrates on driving the plot and characters' personalities forward. And it does a marvelous job, making the mouse easy to like and root for. The plot is also quick-paced, tense and intriguing. Even more reluctant readers won't steer clear of this one. It reminded me a bit of An American Tail.
With all of this mouse-adventure goodness, there is a historical twist...and it didn't come like I expected. Ms. Earhart doesn't play a major role in the story until the very end. Instead, the joy of chasing goals, and the difficulty and work involved in finding a way (or finding a way to fly) is explored. The historical aspects hit after this inspiration settles in, building on the excitement after the tale. Not only is there a summary of Earhart's journey (and this, too, is interesting and even explores the various myths of what really happened to her), but other famous flights are quickly summed up and highlighted.
Not only is this a very enjoyable read, but it uses the inspiration to introduce historical facts and leave the readers with a new respect for accomplishments of the past.
And her he is...
Torben Kuhlmann lives and works in Hamburg as a freelance children’s author and illustrator. He studied illustration and communications design at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. He wrote and illustrated his first picture book, Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse, in 2012 as his final thesis, and it was published in 2014 by NorthSouth. It quickly became a bestseller and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Three more Mouse Adventures followed and were equally successful, including 2019 Batchelder honor and ALA Notable Book Edison. The publication of Earhart, the fifth book, marks the tenth anniversary of the series. However, a few mouse-free books have also crept into the repertoire during the last ten years, including Moletown, The Clown Said No, and The Gray City.
7 comments:
This is an interesting way to tell a historical story. The illustrations sound like a plus. It's good to know you can read this as a standalone.
Thanks for letting us know about this book with a unique and fun story line. Looking forward to tracking down a copy given your enthusiastic review. Happy MMGM!
I can really see this appealing to kids. A lot of them don't like history for some reason, but the mouse might draw them in. Thank you so much for featuring it!
how cool! Kids will love this.
Interesting way to present these historical events. Happy MMGM
This is a fabulous way to get kids immersed in history, and I love the idea of a little mouse going adventuring beyond the boundaries! How fantastic that the author illustrated it as well - I'd love to be able to do that! Thanks for the recommendation!
This is an interesting way to get youngsters reading about historical happenings. I'll bet it works well. Thanks for telling me about it.
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