Bravepaw and the Songstone of the Deep by LM Wilkinson illustrated by Lavanya Naidu

Titch (Tithonia Proudleaf) has been charged with the task of collecting the four Gems of Harmony - Clawstone, Fangstone, Dreamstone and Songstone. Titch herself cannot believe this is true but it seems she is the new Bravepaw. As this fourth book opens we read that Titch is again on her quest to find the gems - now she needs the Dreamstone and the Songstone.

"Maybe the Dreamstone would be easy to find - safe in the royal treasury. Maybe the Songstone would be there too. Maybe, with all the gems reunited, she could hand the staff to Prince Vetiver and let him battle the Deadroot. Then she and Huckleberry could go home to the Plateau, and everything would be alright again."

Spoiler alert - by page 95 Titch has the Dreamstone but finding the Songstone is going to be so much more treacherous. Titch and her two friends - Huckleberry and Briar Nettlebrush will need to return to the Plateau because it has been engulfed by an enormous crack and hordes of curseworms and then Titch learns another part of the prophecy:

Deep at the end of everything

rests the final stone.

It can only be found if you

journey alone.

United the gems

will close the crack.

But if you triumph alone,

you can never come back.

And there are also the words of the Oglethorpe prophecy:

In the time of greatest need

Pay the highest price

The purest of heart must make

The greatest sacrifice

Curseworms are dreadful but there are other horrors that emerge through the crack - Abyss Hounds and  Skitterlings.

"The cloud was made up of monsters - small, leather-winged creatures with sharp claws and even sharper teeth."

At its heart, however, this is a story about friendship, loyalty, responsibility and discovering the courage within yourself. Readers will enjoy cheering on Titch as she faces deep feelings of fear and uncertainty and continuing even when the challenge seems overwhelming. Read Plus

Here we are at the finale, the book that the previous three have been building to as the search for the final two stones comes to a head, and as characters from the previous three books come back, as do the prophecies from a chicken that they’re still trying to make sense of. So, this is a series best read in order. Each book follows on directly from the previous one, diving right into the action and getting Titch and her crew exactly where they need to be when they need to be. The Book Muse

Before you read this fourth book please check out my blog posts for the first three from the series. Your young reading companion will need to start at the beginning and read all four because that will make the heroism of Titch and her huge group of new friends all the more wonderful. Plus in this newest book nearly all the characters we met previously have returned including the wonderfu Earna the eaglebear and Master Sticklepin the hedgehog librarian. Here is a video review.

Bravepaw and the Heartstone of Alluria; Bravepaw and the Clawstone of Rotwood Mire; Bravepaw and the Fangstone of Flintfall

Bookseller blurb for Bravepaw and the Songstone of the Deep: Titch and Huckleberry have journeyed a long way from their cosy home on the Plateau - and all they want to do is go home, eat some tasty plums and play in the cooling stream. But Titch is a hero now, whether she likes it or not, and heroes do not give up, not when Alluria needs heroes more than ever before! Titch knows that there are many ways to be brave, and she has friendship, brave and true, on her side - but will that be enough to stand against the forces of darkness, when all of Alluria is cracking open? Now, at the final hour, will the prophecy be fulfilled? Can Bravepaw unite the Gems of Harmony and save the world?

This is the fourth and final book in the Bravepaw series and I have thoroughly enjoyed each of them. I actually squealed when I saw this final installment in a bookstore.

If I still worked in a school library I would love to showcase this set on a display - even their spines are special! And if I worked in a school I would really want to give this series to a class teacher as a set of books to read aloud - not to study, not to complete worksheets, just for the sheer joy of reading wonderful books which feature courage, heroism, battles, teamwork, friendship and of course a quest to save the world!

Mouse trouble by John Yeoman illustrated by Quentin Blake

"The miller decided that cats were no use and he never bought another one. But he didn't know that the great tabby, still alive and much more contented than he'd ever been, was living with the mice on the very top floor of the mill, eating all the best tidbits that could find for him int he larder and playing endless games of cat and mouse."

Blurb: The grumpy miller is having mouse trouble, so he buys himself a large tabby cat. Fortunately for the mice, the cat is too unfit to catch even a single mouse. But when the miller loses his temper and threatens to drown the poor tabby, the mice decide they must intervene, as they have grown surprisingly fond of him.

Mouse Trouble was first published in 1972 but good news - there are new editions available. 

If you are visiting England, Quentin Blake has just opened (June 2026) a new Museum - The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. The centre features three exhibition galleries: one that is dedicated to Blake's work, and two other spaces with rotated exhibitions. There is also a public illustration library that holds more than 1,000 books, graphic novels, and zines.

John Yeoman (1934-2024) and Quentin Blake are a perfect combination of author and illustrator. Here are just a few of their collaborations:

Here is a partial book list of picture books: 

1969 The Bears’ Winter House

1970 The Bears’ Water Picnic

1972 Mouse Trouble

1974 Beatrice and Vanessa

1977 The Young Performing Horse

1979 The Wild Washerwomen

1982 Rumbelow’s Dance

1988 Our Village 

1995  Mr Nodd’s Ark

1998 Up with Birds!

1999 The Heron and the Crane 

John and Quentin worked together on more than 30 books, from 'A Drink of Water' (1960) right up to their most recent picture book, 'Meet the Family', published in 2022.  The two first met at Chislehurst & Sidcup Grammar School in the 1940s, and remained close friends

I previously talked about Sixes and Sevens and The Bear's Winter House. 

Companion book (this is old and long out of print but it could be in your school library):

102 by Mathew Cordell

This is the image under the dust jacket!

The endpapers in 102 are intriguing. They are filled with 102 beans but while you will recognise some as real beans such as borlotti bean, pinto bean, lima bean and fava bean. Others are quirky such as morning bean, owl bean, Frisby bean, Lobel bean, Poppy bean, Cornbread bean, Sendak bean, and Steig bean. There is even a coffee bean!

The number 102 is the title of this book but it is so much more. The boy's temperature rises to 102; at 1.02am he wakes up and follows the cricket into a different world; the ant has 102 babies; and George's destination is 102 Acorn Hollow and there is a surprise on the last page which refers to 102 again. AND you need to look closely at many pages to find more references to 102 in the illustrations on labels, on a rug pattern, on George's wall and so on.

Watch the way Matthew Cordell creates his illustrations for this book using a multicoloured, multiscented ballpoint pen. "He liked it so much, he went on to draw 102 with it, layering many lines of one colour over another. It took sixteen of these pens to draw all forty-eight pages of this book."

In this podcast Matthew talks in detail about 102 and the inspiration and creative process.

It's time again for more process talk about my new picture book, 102. One of the earliest points of origin for the story, that I can remember, happened way back in 2019. While working in my basement studio, I noticed one afternoon that a frog had gotten trapped in one of our window wells. Rather than save it myself (or, frankly, let it die in there). I waited for my then 1st grade son, Dean, to get home from school and we could figure it out together. He suggested we lower a bucket down and we'd pull it up and out. It took a bit of encouragement (I had to broom the frog into the bucket), but ultimately, we were able to save our new wee green friend that day, father and son! That little blip in our lives was all it took to spark the beginning of 102, which is, at its heart, an animal rescue story. In 102, a mouse is captured in the family kitchen, and young George hopes to keep it as a pet. Without spoiling too much, one outrageous thing happens after another where George shrinks down to the size of a mouse and begins a nighttime adventure, where he learns about the life of that mouse he's captured. This convinces him that it's only right that he release the mouse to get back to his own life and family. It took years for that beginning spark to unfold into the story that became 102, but sometimes that is how these things take shape. Matthew Cordell 

Publisher blurb: Sent home from school earlier in the day with a fever, George awakens in the middle of the night to discover a cricket beckoning him on an adventure and soon finds himself shrunken down in size. He follows the insect guide through a crack in his bedroom wall, through the moonlit yard, and into the home of a family of mice at the base of an oak tree. There, in a tiny, cozy kitchen, George discovers the meaning of his quest: he must help the Mama mouse complete her special 102-bean soup for her sick young son.

Here are some review comments:

"Utterly entrancing." —Kirkus, starred review

"Tender and imaginative." —SLJ, starred review

"Graceful, cozy." —Booklist, starred review

"A weird and wonderful story." —Horn Book, starred review

"Pulses with warmth and inventiveness."—PW, starred review

A magical adventure from a master book creator. Waking Brain Cells

The Kirkus Star reviewed likened 102 to The Borrowers. I also thought of A Cricket in Time Square.

I discovered Matthew Cordell from his Cornbread and Poppy series many years ago. I adore these little beginner chapter books. 

Cornbread and Poppy

Sadly, not many of his picture books have made it to Australia. I am keen to read these two picture books below. I have also added images of the case reveal - we don't do many picture books here in Australia with dust jackets. A different image under the dust jacket adds something a little bit magical to a picture book. US illustrator Matthew Cordell often adds this extra surprise:

Matthew Cordell is the author and illustrator of many celebrated picture books for children, including the Caldecott Medal winner Wolf in the Snow, Evergreen, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, Hello Neighbor!: The Kind and Caring World of Mr. Rogers, a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, and the Cornbread and Poppy series, which Booklist in a starred review has called “a rewarding choice for young readers.” Matthew lives outside of Chicago with his wife, author Julie Halpern, and their two children.

I have also previously talked about these:

Leeva at last

Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie

Following Grandfather by Rosemary Wells illustrated by Christopher Denise

"It was Grandfather who taught me the names of all the shells: luck shells, boat shells, comb shells, winkles, and the rare queen's teacup, which washes up only once in a blue moon."

Jenny and her grandfather like to visit their local beach - Revere Beach in Boston - and yes this is a real place.

See more pages inside Following Grandfather here

Her grandfather came to the US from Italy and as a young man worked in an Italian restaurant. Now he has retired and Jenny's parents run the restaurant. Grandfather has the time to look after and share his wisdom with Jenny but sadly he is coming to the end of his life.

Here is a special extract from this story:

"My parents worked late into the night, so it was Grandfather who spooned warm milk over my evening pudding. It was his hand that showed me how to button my buttons and how to draw J for Jenny. Into Grandfather's vest pocket went my first tooth, and to the ticking of his pocket watch I slept."

And my favourite scene is when Grandfather takes Jenny to the Jordan Marsh and Fliene department store. 

"There the latest fashions from Paris and Milan are copied exactly from the downstairs models. They are painstakingly sewn from sippets of silk and organza stolen from the main racks at night. ... I tried on every outfit and modeled them for Grandfather. He sat patiently, leaning on his mother-of-pearl tipped walking stick and examining the tailoring carefully, as if we could have afforded them."

Two names jumped out at me from the cover of Following Grandfather - Rosemary Wells (author of all those wonderful books about Max and Ruby) and Christopher Denise (illustrator of Knight Owl).

Bookseller blurb (this book is from 2012 and so is now out of print): 

Invisible to humans exists a parallel world of mice, where young Jenny misses her cherished grandfather so much that she begins to see him everywhere. Jenny is as close to her grandfather as a small mouse can be. Grandfather shows Jenny how to button her buttons and how to write her name. He passes along to her the secrets of making the best lasagna in all of Boston. And during long, shared days at Revere Beach, Grandfather teaches Jenny the names of the seashells they find washed up on shore. When Grandfather is all of a suddenly gone one day, the hole he leaves behind is too great for Jenny to fathom. Isn’t that him turning a corner, sitting on a bench, heading for the pier, walking along their beloved beach? Jenny runs after the familiar silver whiskers, hoping. ... Rosemary Wells peels back the layers of grief to reveal, at its core, something as exquisite and achingly beautiful as the rare and storied queen’s teacup seashell. Christopher Denise illustrates mid-century Boston with affection, and a mouse and her grandfather with gentle humor and unabashed sympathy.

This time spent together - old and young - made me think of this wonderful picture book:

I am an adult and I need to say that there is so much in this book that appeals to me, but I am not entirely sure if this is a book for very young readers. Not because of the content, even though the grandfather does die, but more because of the references to American culture and history and also the exploration of the concept of class and privilege. This quote explains this idea:

"I learned all the mice in the city and what they did to make a living. Grandfather tipped his hat to Senator Lodge himself and to the Cabot nursemaids, the fried-seed vendor, and the poorest rat who swept the sewers. Grandfather said hello to the world. I learned to say hello, too, in that way that made the world smile back."

Rosemary Wells expresses in a beautiful way sandcastles that are swept away by a rising tide - she calls them melting sandcastles and she also uses the delightful words 'crenellated tower' to describe the inside of one sandcastle. And you will want to think about the meaning of the title. And I do love the idea of collecting special shells. 

Following Grandfather has 58 illustrated pages so it is a very quick book to read but if you read this book aloud in your family you may find yourself explaining these things:

• Meaning of the word 'revere': to be in awe of and respect deeply; venerate
• Places - Revere Beach in Boston; Holy Cross Cathedral on Washington Street; Martha's Vineyard.
• Italian foods - biscotti, gelato, mozzarella, cappolatte anisetto, tortellini, lasagna puttanesca
• Riding in a streetcar (we might call this a tram).
• Ship names 'Leonardo da Vinci'; Titanic; Carpathia and you will want to explore the sinking of the Titanic in more detail.
• Grandfather wears spats and has mother of pearl buttons

My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything explains her reservations about the audience for Following Grandfather in her blog post. 

Beautifully written text and endearing gray-scale illustrations transport readers and add to the poignancy of the tale. The message that all people are worthy of respect is artfully delivered and the manner in which Jenny mourns her grandfather's death will evoke empathy from young readers who have suffered a similar loss. School Library Journal

Losing someone you love is always painful, but for the young such a loss can be devastating and incomprehensible. In this beautifully written and illustrated story, we come to appreciate how special Jenny’s grandfather is, and we see how the little mouse struggles to come to terms with her grief. Through the Looking Glass

Writing with tenderness and humor, Wells creates an authentic, parallel, mouse-sized world within Boston while introducing readers to human-sized devotion and grief in the fully developed relationship between Jenny and Grandfather. Kirkus

I do enjoy books about mice that incorporate the human world such as these:

A Nest for Celeste

Bless this Mouse

Secrets at Sea

Violet and Jobie in the Wild

Always Clementine

Mousenet

Umbrella Mouse

Cecily Sawyer How to be a spy by Iona Rangeley illustrated by David Tazzyman

"My name is Cecily Sawyer and I'm investigating the disappearance of Emmeline and Peregrine Sawyer. I know this city's mice are being used as spies 

and I know who kidnapped my parents."

Publisher blurb: Cecily Sawyer has spent the evening in the attic, training her pet mouse, Mrs Maple-Syrup – an unusually intelligent mouse, in Cecily’s opinion – when her parents disappear. Luckily, Cecily is more than ready to investigate such a thing. She has wanted to be a spy her whole life, and has all the spy handbooks, manuals and code-cracking kits a girl could need. But soon, Cecily discovers several very strange things in her city. She’s not the only spy out there – far from it, in fact. And Mrs Maple-Syrup is not the only unusually intelligent mouse…

I am not sure if this is a book that young readers aged 9+ will stick with - it has such a large cast of characters and I found the motivations of the adults, who used to belong to one organisation but who have now formed several spy agencies, very confusing. In the end I was also a little bit lost about who were the baddies. I did admire the perseverance of young Cecily and the way she used her knowledge gained from reading a large number of books about working as a spy. It was fun to read the scene when Cecily used the telephone box to transport herself to another place - you have probably seen this in a movie or on the television program Get Smart. In fact, the slapstick style of this book reminded me of a little of that show especially all of her gadgets such as a fire shooting pen and exploding cactus plant.

The organisation names were also a little confusing:

The Espionage Collective

The Intelligent Institute of Espionage and Counterespionage

The Counter Espionage Collective

The Nightcrawler Network

The United League of Reconnaissance

Cecily's books:

Espionage for School-aged Children

The Little Girl's guide to Forging your identity

Code-Breaking for beginners

The Little girl's guide to faking your death and evading your enemies

Manipulation and Intrigue

Surveillance made simple

The Little Girl's G

Thuide to scaling buildings and crossing borders

The Little Girl's Guide to plotting, meddling and coniving

The Little Girl's Guide to infiltration of a Crime Ring

The Little Girl's Guide to Common household poisons

The Little Girl's Guide to starting fires and winning them

So you're assembling a new spy organisation: What next?

You can read story sample here. This book is the first in a planned trilogy. 

Iona Rangeley is the author of this series:

In some ways the tone and format of this book Cecily Sawyer How to be a spy reminded me of this series. These are the newer covers but I do prefer the original ones:

No Room for a Mouse by Kyle Mewburn illustrated by Freya Blackwood

My favourite parts of this book are the cross section illustrations of the huge house and the kindness of Christopher. It is not directly stated but clearly Mrs Fizzletum has become homeless even if the reasons are fanciful and fun:

"I gave my pot plants too much food. ... Now my house is a jungle, and a boa constrictor has swallowed my keys."

Similarly Melody Mistletoe and her family now live at the bus stop. 

"I forgot to turn the taps off in the bath. ... Now our house is an ocean, and there are oysters growing in our beds."

I also love the way everyone contributes to the house and mum finds delightful things such as freshly baked scones but she is so busy that she does not think to ask where they have come from. 

Book seller blurb: Christopher lived with his mum and his best friend, Sneaky, in a house with more rooms than Christopher could count. This charming story about Christopher, his mother and his mouse Sneaky will delight children of all ages. Christopher’s mother is so busy working for the pigeon post that she doesn’t notice when Christopher invites an amazing variety of people to share their enormous house. There’s Mrs Fizzletum, Melody Mistletoe and her family, Maestro Bambonium and his Grand Pandemonium, Ringmaster Fergus and the Sawdust Circus — so many people that there is no room for Sneaky!

This book is a new discovery for me even though it was published in 2007. I have previously talked about Freya Blackwood. Kyle Mewburn lives in New Zealand and is the author of many picture books. She won the Joy Cowley Award (presented by Storylines Children's Literature Foundation of New Zealand) in 2005 and won both the Picture Book Category and the Children's Choice Category with Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck! at the 2007 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. No room for a mouse won a Storylines Notable Book Award in 2008.

When the orchestra move into the house it reminded me of another book by a New Zealand author - Margaret Mahy:

The Pumpkin Man and the Crafty Creeper

You might also be lucky and have a very old book by Bob Graham:

Mouse and Spoon Book Series by Cynthia Rylant illustrated by Janna Mattia

When I saw this book cover on social media I was intrigued. I am a huge huge huge fan of Cynthia Rylant. She writes absolutely PERFECT little stories for children who are just beginning to develop reading confidence. Series such as Mr Putter and Tabby; Henry and Mudge; Annie and Snowball; The High-Rise Private Eye; The Lighthouse Family and now Mouse and Spoon.

I started exploring this series by reading book 2 - Owlets and Tarts - on my Kindle. Sadly, may be a little difficult to find here in Australia but they are fairly new so you can order them. I found them listed at Readings in Melbourne for just AUS$13.

Blurb: Mom and Dad Owl are exhausted—their three little owlets refuse to go to sleep. They need pillow tarts for their babies, and quickly! Will Ginger, Tom, and Piper at the Mouse and Spoon Bakery be able to help?

Here is the full review from the School Library Journal:

A long-reigning master of fiction for emerging readers, Rylant nails it again with this sweet new series about a bakery owned by a family of mice. In this installment, the mice are tasked with creating the perfect confection for owl parents who have been getting no sleep thanks to their three newly hatched owlets. The mice sift, roll, and knead until they have baked “three perfect Pillow Tarts” on which the owlets finally fall asleep. Rylant crafts a tale that is engaging without sacrificing decodability, and Mattia’s pastel-hued illustrations have a timeless quality that suits the story perfectly. The bedraggled owl parents add a touch of slapstick humor, and readers are sure to root for this trio of feisty mice. ­

The Elephants Birthday blurb: The baker mice are in for a surprise when an elephant places a large birthday order for over 100 pound cakes--plus some banana bread for her monkey friends! Can the little mice fill this very big order?  Read the review

Rabbit Tea blurb: A rabbit is having a tea party and needs lots of treats! Will Ginger, Piper, and Tom at the Mouse and Spoon Bakery be able to bake enough carrot cakes in time?

A Porcupine Wedding blurb: Ginger, Piper, and Tom of the Mouse and Spoon Bakery have a very important job: making lots of super sticky buns for a porcupine wedding!

Cynthia Rylant is an American librarian and author, who was born on 6th June 1954. She has written over 100 children’s books.

Bravepaw and the Clawstone of Rotwood Mire by LM Wilkinson illustrated by Lavanya Naidu

Bookseller blurb: Titch and Huckleberry are on an epic quest. They have followed their hearts ... right into the path of a terrifying swamp monster, and a village full of brainwashed squirrels! Maybe their hearts aren't to be trusted? Maybe Titch is just an ordinary little mouse and not Bravepaw after all ...? But Bravepaw or not, Titch is not about to give up. Can she defeat the greedy turtle controlling the squirrels, and discover what his glowing green gem has to do with the legend of Bravepaw and her quest to save Alluria?

This is the swamp monster called a Bogbungler

It is wonderful scene when this slimy loathsome creature is defeated 

by Titch, Huckleberry and their new brave friend, a squirrel named Briar.

Image source: Instagram Lavanya Naidu

This book opens with the prophecy that you might remember from book one:

When the sky fills with shadows

And all is turned to grey

Bravepaw will come.

When hope turns to ashes

And all have lost their way

Bravepaw will come.

The Heart will light the dark

Night will turn to day

When Bravepaw comes.

Titch and Huckleberry have set out on their journey. They find themselves lost in a swampy area. Luckily a new friend named Briar arrives to help them but she then shows them something terrible. This area is a terrific place to find mulberries but somehow all the local squirrels have been enslaved by an evil turtle named Muskeg. Muskeg has a gem around his neck and this seems to be where is power comes from. Titch realised this is connect with the dreadful curseworms you might remember from the first book. At this point I need to stop and say you do need to read Bravepaw and the Heartstone of Alluria in order to make sense of this second installment. So once again Titch and her friends have to defeat several enemies and then find a way to continue their journey and fulfil the prophecy. 

Last night I re-entered the world of Bravepaw and the heroes Titch, Huckleberry and little Dollop. This is the second book in the series but so far I cannot find out how many more are planned. We discover in this second instalment that Titch and her team have to find all the 'Gems of Harmony'.  In this book they have found and restored the Clawstone. We also know they now have to go to the library city of Lexhelm where they will find clues about the other missing gems. So the way is open now for book three!

I was so disappointed Bravepaw and the Heartstone of Alluria did not make the 2025 CBCA Younger Readers Notable list but now it is even more important that you don't lose sight of this series. They should be added to your school library - a great quest, terrific writing, memorable characters, inviting covers, Australian, and perfect for junior readers aged 7+. 

Titch, Huckleberry and Briar are some of my favourite characters in contemporary children’s literature, and a series like this shows that children’s books can be timeless, they can be the kind of book that doesn’t attach themselves to a specific time or era. These can be very powerful, because rather than connecting with readers through a time, place, or items they can recognise, they use themes and what makes us who we are to connect us with the story and the characters.  The Book Muse

Better Reading list three reasons to read Bravepaw and the Clawstone of Rotwood Mire:

1. Who says you need to be a giant warrior to be a hero? Titch proves that even the smallest creatures can have the biggest hearts! She might be unsure at first, maybe she’s not Bravepaw after all, but one thing’s for sure: Titch won’t back down. She’s a great example that even when you feel small or ordinary, you’ve still got the power to be a hero. Plus, there are some magical gems along the way that might help too. Extra sparkles for that heroic flair!

2. The best part of any fantasy adventure? Magical prophecies that might come true! Titch needs to discover the truth about her quest, the legendary Bravepaw and the mysterious glowing green gem the turtle is wearing. What’s its connection to the fate of Alluria? How do the Gems of Harmony fit in? 

3. There’s so much mystery and wonder, you’ll want to unravel every single secret hidden in the pages.

Sure, there are monsters and gems, but the real magic in Bravepaw and the Clawstone of Rotwood Mire is the unbreakable friendship between Titch and Huckleberry. They stick together, face dangers head-on and remind us that being brave isn’t just about fighting—it’s about supporting your friends, no matter what. This story shows that the strongest heroes are those who can rely on their loyal friends!

When I read the first Bravepaw book I immediately thought of the Redwall series (and other heroic animal stories) and it seems this was one of the inspirations for Lili Wilkinson. That's great but I do hope she only plans to write three or perhaps four books for her series. There are 22 books in the Redwall series - I think I read about four or five before I lost my stamina.

Here is a quote from the teachers notes for the first book:

‘Bravepaw sprung into existence over breakfast with my fabulous publisher Susannah Chambers. Our kids are besties, and we were discussing their reading and play. My kid Banjo loves reading funny, silly books like the Treehouse series and Real Pigeons, but when he plays, it’s deadly serious, high-stakes adventure. I found myself longing to introduce him to the classic children’s fantasy that I loved as a child – Brian Jacques’ Redwall, Tamora Pierce’s Alanna and Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn. But at the time he was still a bit too young for those. The Bravepaw series is an introduction to high fantasy for junior fiction readers. It’s got all the tropes, all the adventure, but packaged in an easy to read, early chapter book format, complete with Lavanya Naidu’s stunning illustrations.'

Violet and Jobie in the Wild by Lynne Rae Perkins

A marvelous heroic journey in miniature. Kirkus Star review

Violet and Jobie are enjoying a good life as house mice. They are not pets. They live in a human home and enjoy delicious food treats and television viewing from their bookshelf seat. They especially love to watch nature programs. One day they see some delicious cheese and peanut butter, a double treat, has been left in a box. There is something holding the cheese and the peanut butter. Violet and Jobie use this to play a game - the snapping game. Using a pole (you can see in the illustration that this is a pencil) they jump on their pole and snap! Now they can feast on the treats, but little do they know the humans are about to find them. Yes, this is a mouse trap. The humans are surprised to find the mice are alive in the box. Luckily for Violet and Jobie the mother and son decide to take this pair back to the wild. Violet and Jobie know nothing about living in the wild. It is fairly easy to find food but what about all the danger - predators seem to be everywhere. Oh, and they will need somewhere safe to live.

This is a perfect story for readers aged 8+. It contains small black and white illustrations and has 33 short chapters with a large print size. My paperback copy cost AUS$20. One very interesting part of this story comes right at the end. Yes, it is a happy ending, but it is a very different one as Violet and Jobie will now move on and live separate lives.  Here are some brief discussion ideas if you read this book to a class.

The fast-paced plot keeps this gentle survival story moving. Horn Book

Populated with enough mice to give most grownups nightmares, Violet and Jobie in the Wild is a sweet and engaging coming-of-age tale for middle graders. I love how Jobie observes and appreciates the character of Iris, a kind and patient girl mouse he happens to meet, making him want to connect with her. Through Violet, the reader experiences the way that a trusted mentor can open up new joys and share wisdom. A Book and a Hug

When I saw the name Lynne Rae Perkins, I immediately thought of this book which I previously read and loved:

Companion book:

Word of Mouse