A FRIEND FOR OSCAR MOUSE by Joe Majewski & Maria Majewska

The next time you visit the public library, something everyone should do with great frequency, go to the children’s section, and find a shelf, any shelf, and just start flipping through the books. You will be absolutely amazed at the number of books you will find that feature mice! With the possible exception of rabbits, mice are the most often featured animal in children’s literature. This, I might add, includes dogs and cats, which came as a big surprise to me! Now I like mice. I always have. But you would be hard pressed to find a critter that is more persecuted than the lowly mouse. Finding one of these furry little rodents in the house is a major trauma for many families. Thousands of dollars a year are spent to eradicate them. I know of no predator in the wild that does not have mice at the top of their list of preferred foods. Go to the store and you will find all kinds of traps, poisons, sound devices and oddities sold specifically to kill the little suckers. “Build a better mouse trap, and the world will beat a path to your door,” is one of the first quotes I can remember from child hood. So why all the books about mice? Well, this work is one of the reasons……

A Friend For Oscar Mouse, by Joe Majewski and Maria Majewska is one of the better “mouse” books I have come across. It is a simple story of a little mouse, Oscar, who lives in an old sugar tin in a little, dark cupboard in a large country home. Oscar is rather an adventurous mouse, who likes to prowl around the big house, looking into this and that and avoiding the house cat that is always ready to pounce upon an passing mouse. One day Oscar discovers a small hole with a bright beam of sunlight coming through. Oscar, being Oscar, first peeks through then jumps out. At that moment Oscar is introduced to a new world…The Outside! This work is the story of the little mouse’s adventures in this new and strange world and his discovery of a new friend, Alfie. This is not the same old story of country mouse changes place with city mouse, it is the story of a friendship and one of discovery.

First published in 1988, this small work was fortunately republished in 1991 as a soft cover book. Unfortunately there have been no reprints since that date, and this one is getting a bit hard to find with the hardcover edition being almost impossible, unless of course, you have the big bucks.

The story is well written, easy to follow, and is a great read-along. That being said, the true fascination and delight, for me, was the art work! Everything is presented in appropriate shades, whether it be sunlight or the dark of the forest or house. Each picture is extremely detailed and each is of the type that falls into the category of “the more you look, the more you see.” The artist could quite well make a good living as a painter of natural history subjects, as the animal and plants are so vivid and detailed. There are even surprises, such as on one page the artist has made half of the painting using a primitive style while the bottom half of the picture is back to the normal semi-realistic style used through most of the book. Sounds strange, I know, but it is quite effective!

I like this sort of book because not only can you read the actual story, as written by the author, but when you start the rereading, over and over and over and over again, you have plenty of material to throw in new little stories you can make up yourself as you read. If nothing else, you can have the kid try to find all the bugs which are featured on just one page (I have found 12 different species, and still counting).

Recommend this one highly. It is not as well known as Joyce Dunbar's and Maria Majewski’s Ten Little Mice, but is just as good, if not better.

Considerations :::
This book has not been rated for Reading Level.