Don't Miss Out On Finnigan the Circus Cat!

Today I'm reviewing and giving away a fun little chapter book geared toward 7-10 year olds. Finnigan the Circus Cat is about a tiny foundling kitten who finds a home in a barn that also houses a former small town circus museum. There he meets a pair of "circus mice" cousins who become his closest companions.

The author (and illustrator), Mary T. Wagner, says she was inspired to write this book because of her own family's experience with a rescue kitty named Finnigan.  

Much of the story is closely modeled after that cat and his antics; and the fact that the author's younger daughter is a contemporary circus aerialist certainly didn't hurt the inspiration for this story either!  (You can read more about the "real Finnigan" here.)

This adorable tale (pun intended) is full of action and humor.  It reminded me a little of Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle, where the comings and goings of a human family just serve as a backdrop for the real excitement that's going on between the animals.  

Lots of good old fashioned fun!  (Go here for some of my other favorite cat and mouse books.)

And, honestly, what child doesn't love a circus story?

Maximillian and Leroy are two circus mice cousins who think they've got it made at the old Farnsworth Circus Museum...no dogs, a safe path to a full pantry in the empty house, and a barn full of dry hay and old circus wagons to hang out in.

But when a new generation of Farnsworths move in, things start to shake up a bit. And when eight-year-old Lucy Farnsworth brings home a tiny rescue kitten and hides him in the barn because her dad is allergic to cats, Max and Leroy need to think fast if they're going to be able to stick around.

With the help of Boomer - the strangely silent family dog - Max and Leroy take the new kitten under their care and show him the ropes - figuratively and eventually literally...in the end it's Finnigan to the rescue!

You can find this book on Amazon (paperback or Kindle edition), here.  It's the first of a coming series, and I can't wait to read the others.

Today I'm giving away a paperback copy, signed by the author!  To enter for a chance to win, please leave a comment on this post.  Be sure to include your first name and last initial.

• Giveaway ends at midnight, Friday, September 16, 2016.  
• Winner announced Saturday, September 17, 2016.
• The winner will have a week to contact me with a mailing address, so I can send the book off to you!

Czech? Check!

Following my previous post about Czech composer Antonin Dvorak's poignant musical composition, "Goin' Home", I think I'll continue on with my admiration for Czech artists by sharing a fun children's book by a talented author/illustrator from Prague! 

The book is The Mouse Who Ate the Moon, by Petr Horacek.

When my daughter brought this charming book home from the library for her son, she astutely observed, "The story and illustrations are like Eric-Carle-meets-Krtek".  

Not surprisingly, the author/illustrator Petr Horacek relates (here) that growing up in the Czech Republic, he loved the cartoon character Krtek ("Little Mole"), created by Zdenek Miler.  

Krtek

Our family knows about Krtek because my oldest son David studied film in Prague, where the Little Mole has been a beloved character since the mid-1950's.  (Sadly Zdenek Miler, Krtek's creator, died while our son was there in 2011. We're so happy David brought home a little stuffed Krtek and a couple of cute Krtek books, which my grandson loves.)

Back to Petr Horacek: he also said in an interview that Eric Carle is a favorite illustrator of his [source].  The drawings and storyline in Horacek's The Mouse Who Ate the Moon do remind me a lot of Eric Carle's Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me.

Eric Carle's Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me.

I love the bright and colorful Eric-Carle-style images that Horacek painted for his Mouse book, which also involves two other very Krtek-like characters: a mole, and a rabbit...

One evening, a mouse, peering out of her hole, looks at the moon and wishes she could have a piece for her very own.

The next morning, when she sees something she has never seen before - a yellow banana - she thinks a piece of the moon has fallen from the sky and that her wish has come true!

Before she knows it, she's eaten half of it and is regretful, thinking the moon won't be round anymore.

His friends, Rabbit and Mole assure the Mouse, "Nobody can eat the moon,"  and they take her to the top of a hill and show her -- "slowly, something shiny appeared behind the trees."

It was, of course, the moon. Relieved, they go and sit under the stars and eat the other half of Little Mouse's "moon", while the real moon lights up the sky behind them.

This sweet story is a great way to introduce the concept of moon phases to young children.  Great for ages 2-5.

Go here to see other picture books by Petr Horacek. 

"Pet Advice" From Maggie Rudy's Super Cute Mice

Do you wish sometimes...

that you had a pet?

Maybe even just a little roly-poly?  

If this sounds like your child, you've got to run out and find this adorable new picture book from talented artist Maggie Rudy...

Maggie's hand sewn mice and charming dioramas will lead you and your child into a "Mouseland" that you'll want to venture a peek into again and again!

And her little mice offer plenty of good advice about what it means to own a pet, such as...
1. Pick a pet that suits your style.
2. A pet is not a doll (it might not like to play dress up)...

3. Your pet might like to play fetch...

4. Care for you pet...
- Keep it clean
- Keep it comfy, fed, and watered.
- And when it makes a mess, clean up after it!

You'll discover lots of other criteria for becoming a pet owner in this adorable book, but most important of all remember: "Pick a pet who will be your friend..."

I Wish I Had a Pet is Maggie Rudy's second book (after The House that Mouse Built.)  Hat tip to one of my blog followers - Martha from The Scrumptious Life - who turned me onto Maggie's amazing work!

I immediately got in touch with Maggie, and she graciously agreed to answer a few questions so we could get to know her a little better:

Maggie holding her newest book,
I Wish I Had A Pet
source: http://mouseshouses.blogspot.com/

I understand that you and your sisters acquired your first felted mice during a year that your family lived in England. What were a few of your favorite children's books growing up?

Maggie: I loved The Little Fur Family, by Margaret Wise Brown and Garth Williams; Ferdinand The Bull, by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson, and my first chapter book, The Adventures of Sam Pig, by Allison Uttley, illustrated by Graham Percy. I loved Sam Pig! I was always drawn to the pictures in books at least as much the stories. Our father also read us the entire Ring series by J.R.R Tolkien when I was about six, and much of the imagery from those books stays with me still.

What led you into the world of art and creating your own little creatures?

Maggie: My grandmother and mother were both artists, so I had the example of people around me making things, and there were always art supplies to be had. And my sisters and I spent hours making little environments from moss and sticks for our troll dolls. I'm not exactly sure how, but those two things were certainly starting points for the creation of Mouseland.

When did you decide to take the plunge into the world of children's books? 

Maggie:I took a photograph of some mice one year for a Christmas card, which gave me the idea of using them as illustrations. My sons were leaving home and I was eager to explore new career possibilities, so I enrolled in a children's book illustration class at our community college. The instructor told me that I had something special with the mice, and that I should pursue a career in the field. So I did!  

I'm just crazy about Maggie's books and her fun blog that features the "newest exploits" of her mice!!  Maybe it's because when I was a baby, I was nicknamed "Wendy Mouse" by a close friend of my parents - he insisted that I was so small my cry was "just a squeak".  The pet name (pun intended) stuck, so I'm always ready for a good mouse story! Go here to read my past post, "FUN MOUSE STORIES (that aren't about Mickey!)"

Here's the book trailer for I Wish I Had a Pet.  What do you think?