A Mouse Called Julian
by Joe Todd-Stanton
Flying Eye Books, 2019. 36 pages.
Starred Review
Review written August 9, 2019, from a library book
This book reminded me a tiny bit of William Steig’s classic Doctor DeSoto, only instead of outsmarting the fox, the little mouse (called Julian) befriends the fox who wants to eat him.
It’s not out of nobility, though. Julian lives alone and likes it that way. His solitary home is underground, between the roots of a big tree. One day, a fox smashes through his front window, planning to eat him – and gets completely stuck!
The image of the giant (compared to Julian) head of the fox, with a mouth full of teeth, filling the upper portion of Julian’s home is truly startling. The image of his back end sticking out of the hole is comical.
But now the fox is at Julian’s mercy. He doesn’t want to stay there. And since Julian doesn’t want the fox’s head in his home, he tries to help – but without success.
When it got to dinner time, Julian couldn’t bear to watch the fox’s sad hungry eyes.
So he shared what he had and they talked and ate long into the night.
The fox realized it was much nicer to eat dinner with Julian than to eat Julian for dinner.
And Julian realized that having a guest wasn’t so terrible.
That’s not the end of the story. Julian does eventually get the fox free, and their friendship has some consequences, consequences that add some humor to the tale.
I’m looking forward to reading this book in storytime. It’s a friendship story with a twist, and it leaves me smiling.
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/mouse_called_julian.html
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