SCUTTLE THE STOWAWAY MOUSE
Jean and Nancy Soule with pictures by Barbara Remington/ published 1969 by Parent's Magazine Press
I hate to sound sexist, but it is hard to believe a woman did these illustrations. The pictures of the rats and the pirates in particular are pretty creepy, so it's kinda cool that a woman could come up with them. According to one of the back pages of the book, Ms. Remington illustrated the first paperback volumes of The Lord of the Rings trilogy - which makes sense. The two authors are a mother and her thirteen-year-old daughter who published several books together during this time period.
In the midst of that battle he was so small
That nobody noticed the mouse at all.
Quickly Scuttle hunted around
Till over the railing he looked and found
The captain's hat with the turned-up brim
A perfect boat for a mouse like him.
Mouse looks for home. Mouse find adventure instead. Mouse escapes pirates. Mouse steals pirate loot. Mouse ends up with nice house. That's basically the gist. I thought my son would be tweaked by the pictures, but he's actually pretty into them. We purchased it earlier this week at a Goodwill, and it has been through at least six reads already without one creep out.
I love your place here! I curled up with some chocolate and began going through all your reviews. I found you while looking for a picture of either Penny by Marjorie Torrey or the Dandelion Library: Peter Pan & Alice in Wonderland - I can't remember. I have a huge list of books to get now - thank you! Simply, your reviews are funny, smart and unique. All the talk of certain books being creepy cracks me up. The creepiest book for me when I was young was Uncle Wiggily and the Sugar Cookie. God help me, I still can't stand the sight of it.
ReplyDeleteGreat.. My comments post automatically, so it takes me a while to find them sometimes. Thanks for reading. Buying books for my son and finding old favorites is so much fun. Seriously, I could break the bank. I've started browsing at Goodwill of late and you can still find 50 cent treasures there.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for checking me out!