The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse by Aesop and Ayano Imai
Aesop's fable of the town mouse and the country mouse is well known. When visiting the country mouse, town mouse declares that he has much nicer food available in his house. So country mouse goes to visit him. The food is very fancy and delicious, but the risks in getting it are much greater, and so the country mouse decides to go back to his quiet, humble home again.
| The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse by Aesop and Ayano Imai | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Ng
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| Summary: Beautiful artwork, but I felt the ending lacked a sense of completion. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: February 2011 |
| Publisher: Minedition | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-9881915436 | |
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The artwork in this book is lovely. The colours are soft, and each picture looks as if it has been painted on canvas. The mice are very mouse-like, although they do have little items of clothing on. I particularly liked all of the pictures in the countryside with dainty wildflowers, pretty butterflies and gently waving grasses. When the two mice go to town the sense of size is portrayed well, with huge pieces of cheese (requiring a ladder for access!) and large legs walking past the tiny mousehole.
The story is told quite simply and is easy to follow. The language isn't too complex, though it's probably best for older toddlers. Town mouse is disparaging about poor Country Mouse's food offerings, and can't wait to show him the delights on offer back at his home in town. I actually thought the food in the town could have looked a little bit more appetising. The colours of the cakes and biscuits were a little too muted, but you get a good sense of the mice's terror each time the humans appear.
After two near misses of almost being discovered as they eat, country mouse can take no more terror. He says I much prefer my quiet fields and hedgerows at home. And I know that there I can live in peace without any fear. My daughter and I then turned the page, expecting perhaps some summation of the story, but that was the end and all that was left was a picture of country mouse sitting by his house eating some food and looking very happy. It's a very sweet picture, but it felt a little odd that that was how the story finished.
I think perhaps part of the problem might be that I've never been entirely sure about this one of Aesop's fables. Although it seems to be saying that it's better to have a quiet, simple life than one that's lived in luxury but also in fear, yet really country mice have plenty to be afraid of too - owls and other birds of prey, foxes, farmers....Anyway, even without this issue with the fable itself I still felt something was lacking at the end of this book as I felt I needed to explain to my daughter the conclusions country mouse had reached and why he'd gone back home without his friend, and why his friend preferred to stay where he was.
If you're already a fan of the fable then this would make a lovely purchase since the artwork is really well drawn. However, I would recommend borrowing it from the library first to try it out just in case it leaves you a little nonplussed too.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
Further reading suggestion: For more of Aesop's fables we can recommend Mr Aesop's Story Shop by Bob Hartman and Jago.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse by Aesop and Ayano Imai at Amazon.com.
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