How terribly surprised the
Little family must have been when their second child turned out to be a small
mouse. Apparently
familiar with the axiom that "when in New York City, anything can happen," the Littles accept
young Stuart into their family unquestioningly--with the exception of Snow bell the cat who is unable to overcome his instinctive dislike for the
Little mouse. They build him a bed from a matchbox, and supply him with all of the needs a young mouse could need. Mrs. Little even fashions him a suit, because baby clothes would obviously be unsuitable for such a sophisticated mouse. In return, Stuart helps his tall family with errant Ping-Pong balls that roll outside of their reach. E. B. White takes Stuart on a hero's quest across the American countryside, introducing the mouse and the reader to a myriad of delightful characters. Little finds himself embroiled in one adventure after another from the excitement of racing sailboats to the unseen horrors of substitute teaching. This is a story of leaving home for the first time, of growing up, and ultimately of discovering oneself. At times, doesn't everyone feel like the sole mouse in a family and a world of extremely tall people? I enjoyed the bit when he meets Harriet who is also mouse-sized and he gets all ready to take her on a canoe trip when he loses the canoe! Stuart starts getting all upset and cries and Harriet cheers him up again. Children aged 9 - 12 would enjoy this book. I would rate this book 9.5/10 because it leaves me stuck at bits and I even fell asleep at one part!