Very cute - and as these kind of stories go, positively reasonable. Everything the mice do is within the realms of the possible (ok, aside from speaking - but that's only between themselves, not to humans). And the girl's actions are similarly reasonable. Cute, nice, not sickeningly sweet. Not much to it, but it is definitely a kids' book and for that class it's well above average. ( )

Mary is a girl who was given Mouse House, a jewelry box, as a present. There are two dressed-up mice dolls in it. In the cellar of her house a large family of mice live in a crowded flower pot. The youngest, Bonnie, was always getting pushed out onto the floor. One night she bravely goes exploring and discovers the Mouse House, only to be trapped inside. Mother Mouse realizes that one of her children is missing; Father Mouse doesn't and tells her that she can't count. Males do not come off well in this story: Father Mouse is more interested in the food he squirrels away than finding suitable accommodations for his family---if the children need them then they should find them. Women and girls search for solutions and find them. ( )

Ex-lib. Dicken School library (Ann Arbor) ( )

This children's book, originally published in 1957, contains charming illustrations drawn by Adrienne Adams to accompany Rumer Godden's delightful tale of a young girl's jewelry box and the mouse family who repurpose it.. Rereading it brought to mind fond memories of curling up in my favorite little cubby and reading of a character, Bonnie Mouse, smaller than me, in fact, the smallest in her family who has the wherewithal, bravery, gumption and a little good fortune to change her circumstances and make a better life for herself and her family. ( )