- Paperback: 176 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber; New edition edition (4 Aug 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0571226175
- ISBN-13: 978-0571226177
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.4 x 1.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
222,110 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #11 in Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators > H > Hoban, Russell
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Product Description
Review
"'Brilliantly plotted... a spellbinder... it has a style that glows and crackles.' Spectator"
Product Description
'Brilliantly plotted . . . a spellbinder . . . it has a style that glows and crackles.' Spectator
'Hugely funny, provocative, pathetic and heroic.' TLS
'What are we, Papa?' the toy mouse child asked his father. 'I don't know,' the father answered. 'We must wait and see.'
So begins the story of a tin father and son who dance under a Christmas tree until they break the ancient clockwork rules and are themselves broken. Thrown away, then rescued from a dustbin and repaired by a tramp, they set out on a dangerous quest for a family and a place of their own - the magnificent doll's house, the plush elephant and the tin seal they had once know in the toy shop.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Talking animals and toys. Syrupy sentimental fairytale, you think? Wrong.
This is astonishingly, heartbreakingly beautiful, with the most arduous, no make that harsh, journey you've ever done.
Will have you in tears, no question.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The mouse and his child are a tin wind-up toy who get thrown out into the world when they are thrown on the garbage heap. Their life and adventures really only begin when they would be considered rubbish by most people. Their quest to assemble a family and to become self-winding takes them through a varied and exciting series of adventures that most people would have difficulty enduring. It is a path frought with peril, but also a path of discovery and redemption. Do they come all right in the end? You'll have to read the book, won't you?
I have read "The Mouse and His Child" several times and each time I marvel at the imagination and humour I find in it. It is full of satire and punning and the characters are well rounded and interesting. It is unlike any other book I've ever read and I thoroughly enjoy it. Several lines from the book (or to be more precise, the recording of Peter Ustinov reading the story) have entered our family vocabulary. I would recommend this story to anyone who likes books like "The Chronicles of Narnia," "The Phantom Tollbooth," "Alice in Wonderland," and the stories of E. Nesbit.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I had this book as a child and read it several times - and still remember it very well many years later. The thing that really stayed with me was that it was a sad and moving story and was very different to all the "cheesy happy ending" type stories. it made me realise that not everything in the world was wonderful especially if you are a clockwork mouse!)I still have a copy of this wonderful book and will keep it for my daughter to read when she is older.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Manny Rat lives?
One of the greatest books for young and old ever written.Even those with "no teef!" like myself. Wonderfully illustrated, it is a profound and humanistic story from the author of... Read more
Published 16 months ago by the captain
An epic journey
This is the story of a wind-up toy of a mouse & his child. After leaving their home in the toy shop, they endure a difficult & horrendous journey through the world and face many... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Zed2008
A road trip tale for children
This Pinnochio-esque tale for older children written in 1967 of a clockwork Daddy mouse and his child is a modern children's classic. Read more
Published on 5 April 2009 by Annabel Gaskell
Too good for kids.
I didn't know Russell Hoban wrote for children until recently. His "Riddley Walker" is one of my all-time favourite adult books. Read more
Published on 20 April 2006 by infenix
Deep philosophy--for children!
A deep, intelligent, powerful book clothed as childrens literature. This book works on several levels so it can be appreciated as a simple road tale, an adventure or as one of the... Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2006 by J. D. Ritchie
my number one
Like the other reviewers, i love this book, it is probably top of my list, i re-read it every year or so, never tire of it, and it is magical for adults and children alike, on all... Read more
Published on 1 May 2003
Wind in the Willows it ain't
This is probably one of the most memorable books I've ever read. I read it as an adult, so I can't really say what effect it would have on children, but it probably won't cheer... Read more
Published on 12 April 2002
A masterpiece for children and adults alike
I read it twice as a kid and once (so far) when I'd growed up, and it was still fantastic, mature, moving and original. Buy it for your kids and borrow it off 'em at once. Read more
Published on 14 Aug 2001 by Jason Mills
* * * * * (That's ANOTHER 5 stars!)
I read this twice as a kid, once more as a grown-up, and it's about time I read it again. Nothing remotely schmultzy about this. Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2000 by Jason Mills
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