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Summary
Summary
Meet Mrs. Eleanor Marlowe, a young widow who lives in an apartment by herself -- not counting the extended family of mice who secretly live with her. Harbouring mice is a very serious offense in Cat City. Why would a mild-mannered widow run such a risk? The neighbours wonder why Mrs. Marlowe never invites anyone over for catnip tea. Her secret little friends are beginning to wonder about their host, too. So fine is the cheese she serves that some of Mrs. Marlowe's mice wonder if she's fattening them up for the kill. One day, officers from the Department of Catland Security show up at Mrs. Marlowe's door, demanding to search the premises. Can this crafty feline outwit the police and save her mice from certain doom? Is Mrs. Marlowe the mouse-sympathizer she appears to be? Or is she really a mouse-hungry monster stocking her larder with fresh mice? AGES: 5 to 9 AUTHOR: Frank Asch has a degree in Fine Arts and has written over seventy children's books including 'Star Jumper: Journal of a Cardboard Genius', the IRA Children's Choice Award-winning 'Mr. Maxwell's Mous and its follow-up, 'Mrs. Marlowe's Mice'. Colour Illustrations
Author Notes
Frank Asch is the author and illustrator of more than 70 books for children. His picture books with Kids Can Press include Ziggy Piggy and the Three Little Pigs and Mr. Maxwell's Mouse (illustrated by his son, Devin Asch). Frank lives in Middletown Springs, Vermont.
Devin Asch is an illustrator and photojournalist. He divides his time between LA and Hawaii.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-Mrs. Marlowe is an attractive feline in gray suit and pearls who works in the Purrington Street library. One day her nosy neighbor accuses her of hiding something in her apartment since she never invites her inside. And Mrs. Marlowe is hiding something-a large and happy family of mice that keep her home clean and tidy. Suddenly the police are banging on the door, and the neighbor is watching through her window. Mrs. Marlowe convinces the officers that the mice are for snacking and proves the point by "eating" one of them. Once the police have left, she produces the little mouse from under her tongue, everyone has supper and a good story, and the feline falls fast asleep. The illustrations are magnificent. Done in Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter with extraordinary sepia tones, they are realistic and detailed and could be pored over for hours. Unfortunately, the story is far too wordy, and is arranged in large blocks of bland text. It would almost seem that the illustrator got "hooked" on the technique and the writer provided a story to complement his work. Fans of Mr. Maxwell's Mouse (Kids Can, 2004) might like this one as well, and it's perfect for schools that use picture books to highlight illustration techniques in their design classes.-Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York City (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Following on the tail of Mr. Maxwell's Mouse (2004), this father-son team spins another cat-and-mouse gambit set in Edwardian times. When Mrs. Eleanor Marlowe (a quite refined cat) returns home from her job at the Purrington Street Library one day, her busybody neighbor invites her to tea and tuna tarts but complains that her invitation is never returned. Mrs. Marlowe's protest that she's a dreadful housekeeper is just an excuse as her apartment is fastidiously clean and neat--due to the large family of mice that lives with her. When Lieutenant Manx and Sergeant Baxter from the Department of Catland Security show up at her door to investigate a neighbor's complaint that she's a mouse-keeper, Mrs. Marlowe has to think quickly to cover up any telltale tracks and foil the law. The ending, though a bit abrupt with Mrs. Marlowe reading a story to the mice, leaves the door open for more tales. The captivating, vintage-looking artwork, rendered in Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter, assimilates unusual perspectives to add to the intrigue with details that enhance the narrative puns with visual ones. Not quite as charmingly macabre as their first book but entertaining nonetheless. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Quick thinking helps a librarian with a secret weather multiple challenges in this return to the elaborately depicted Edwardian setting of Mr. Maxwell's Mouse (2004). Arriving home after a weary day at the Purrington Street Library, Eleanor Marlowe deflects a snoopy neighbor's accusation that she's harboring mice in her apartment. In fact, she is caring for an extended family of mice, who express gratitude even as they wonder at her motives. Is she only fattening them up to eat? Their suspicions seem confirmed when police officers pound on the door in response to a complaint, and Eleanor pops a mouse into her mouth. Carefully detailed period dress and furnishings add a genteel air to the digital picture-book art and also an intriguing cognitive dissonance (the mice and cats have human-shaped bodies). Although the story reads like a chapter from a longer tale, in the end, the police are mollified, the mice are apologetic when Eleanor pulls her victim out wet but unharmed, and children will have a quiet, compassionate new hero.--Peters, John Copyright 2007 Booklist