Collins Modern Classics - The Rescuers [Paperback]

The Prisoner's Aid Society is a network of mice with a mission similar to that of Amnesty International, that is to cheer prisoners and work for their release. To this end, they have selected to rescue a Norwegian poet, held on unspecified charges in a citadel called the Black Castle in an unspecified European country that may or may not be behind the Iron Curtain. To do so, they must enlist the aid of a mouse who knows a) local Mouse, b) International Mouse, and c)Norwegian. To find such a mouse, Bernard, a pantry mouse with the Tybalt Star (for bravery in the face of cats) sets out to engage the services of the premier diplomatic mind of mousedom, the fabulous Miss Bianca, who lives with the Ambassador's Boy in a Porcelain Pagoda and travels by diplomatic pouch.

Miss Bianca is, in a word, a piece of work: ravishingly beautiful, with a small silver chain about her neck, she embodies Fifties ladylike femininity to a degree not seen outside of Tennessee Williams. Charming, adroitly diplomatic, but I'm afraid, a bit of a ditz, who, with a sigh, owns that she "knows nothing about machinery", frets and has a headache at the least provocation, is a fanatic for interior decoration, and is too dumb to know that most cats just want to eat her. Nonetheless, she finds Nils, a Norwegian seafaring mouse (somehow the joke would work better with a *rat*, I think), and the three go off to rescue Mr. Poet.

In the Black Castle, they face Mameluke, "the Head's" (of the prison) black Persian, subject of several of Garth William's most startling drawings. For an illustrator who's been a cornerstone of cute, Mameluke, done with all the round furriness of his work with Golden Books, is truly shocking, with a malevolent glare and alarming teeth, setting off Miss Bianca's Madame Pompidor fragility. The Poet (humans aren't named in this book, but all animals are) undergoes a series of changes in the illustrations as he goes from stunned half-starved fatuousness to handsome young manhood.

The good points of this book are many, for a sensitive parent: it's a good way to open discussions of things like world politics and diplomacy and so forth with a child in a way that doesn't take sides. The bad points are, well, it's a very campy book: its view of prison life is roughly identical to that of the boys in Huckleberry Finn, its view of poets, that of the late 19th century, and that of women...well, let's just say that the last woman I knew who acted anything like Miss Bianca was a man. The Mameluke illustrations are VERY frightening, and so are some of the others. Still, it's a good book. Give it a try.

Disney has much to answer for. Through the years it's co-opted, retold, and twisted a whole range of interesting children's books and stories out there. No one denies this. However, Disney sometimes (without realizing it itself) does the world a boon. Take, for example, the case of "The Rescuers". Best known today as a cartoon movie in which Eva Gabor and Bob Newhart lend their voices to two adorable mouse rescuers of a little girl, few remember that the film originally began as a book series. Fewer still have read that series today. Yet for all its faults, Disney's movie still leads children to read Margery Sharp's impeccable little treasure. It is debatable whether or not people would still remember the book were it not for the film. What is not debatable is the fact that the book, for all its dated concepts and affectations, remains a wonderful classic.

The Prisoners' Aid Society is a noble institution. Run entirely by mice, the society strives to help cheer and aid a variety of prisoners held around the world. This they do for the good of the world around them, and their selflessness is to be commended. When it comes to the attention of the society that a Norwegian poet has been wrongly imprisoned in the legendary (and much feared) Black Castle, the mice waste no time in formulating a plan for the man's release. The first thing to do, however, is to locate a brave Norwegian mouse to speak to the prisoner. This would normally be a long and tedious process, but luck is with the society. Bernard, a solid sturdy brown mouse, is dispatched to enlist the aid of Miss Bianca. Miss Bianca is the white pet mouse of the ambassador's son and she has always lived in the lap of luxury. Soon the ambassador and his son will be leaving for Norway and if Bernard can convince Miss Bianca to locate a brave Norwegian rodent for their cause, the prisoner may stand a chance. Being a bit of a spoiled pet, Miss Bianca initially shies away from Bernard's pleas, but his good heart and her better nature prevail and soon she's involved in a world of intrigue and heroic mouse rescues.

It's a funny book to read today for a number of reasons. Because it was originally written in 1959, Miss Bianca is often spoken of as a lady. She's spoiled so she doesn't understand how act in the real world. So there is some interesting language regarding her complete confusion over things that "every" woman should know (like where a house's pantry is). I was personally surprised to find that for all her charms, Miss Bianca begins the novel as an ignorant little thing prone to fainting fits and ends the book a little wiser if still slightly affected. Bernard, for his part, immediately wins the hearts and minds of every person that meets him. You completely understand his selfless devotion to Miss Bianca. More shockingly to me, Miss Bianca seemingly returns Bernard's affections, even if she does place him second in her heart to the boy that is her master. Sharp's language is especially effective. Though I don't have clear memories of reading this tale as a child, the moment I came to the passage in which the evil jailer's room was covered in the bodies of beautiful impaled butterflies, suddenly everything came flooding back to me. Finally, Garth Williams the Great has lent his illustrative hand to the project. His pictures are fabulous. No author has ever quite mastered the combination of cutesy (as in the case of the mice) and downright horrific (the cat in this book will, with any luck, give every reader that sees it nightmares). Even if the text were not good, the pictures would be worth the price of purchase alone.

Books in which mice speak and interact with one another on an almost human level abound in the children's literary world. You have your "Poppy" by Avi and your "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh" by Robert O'Brien. You have "Time Stops For No Mouse" by Michael Hoeye and "Basil of Baker Street" by Eve Titus. Add to the list, "The Rescuers", and you've a perfect platter of fabulous kiddie lit. This is one of those amazing classics that may forever be tied into its Disneyfication, but at least it'll be remembered. A beautiful book that more people should know.

The Rescuers is a book about how the brave mice Bernard, Miss Bianca and Nils a brave Norwiegan mouse, rescue and imprisoned Norwiegan poet from the horrible prison the Black House.This is a wonderful book and has many aspects that the Disney films do not cover. I would reccomend this book to anyone.