Once a Mouse
Name of the Book: Once a Mouse…a fable cut in wood!
Author: Marcia Brown
Illustrator: Marcia Brown
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks
Audience: 4th – 6th grade
Summary: A hermit witnesses a mouse about to be eaten by a crow and comes to the mouse’s rescue. The mouse is subsequently attacked by a more fearsome predator and the hermit changes the mouse into an animal more fearsome than the predator attacking him. Eventually the hermit turns the mouse into a regal tiger that becomes vain and ungrateful. In response, the hermit changes the tiger back into a mouse and lets him go in the jungle to fend for itself.
Literary elements at work in the story: (genre, setting, characterization, plot, theme, point of view, style) This is a fable told through narration, The illustrations look like they might have been carved in wood and stamped . The setting is the jungle. The illustrations really convey emotion and appear life-like.
Perspective on gender, race, culture, economic, ability: The hermit is dressed like he is from India and the jungle scenes convey that message as well yet few would find this story unfit for any ethnic audience. The hermit is the only human character though the tiger displays human emotions.
Scripture: Matthew 18.23, Proverbs 11:2:, Proverbs 16:18
Theology: All we have comes from God and none of it is of our own doing.
Faith-talk questions:
- What are you really good at? Do you think God gave you that gift or did you develop it on your own?
- Why do you think people are so focused on themselves?
- Do you remember a time when a friend or family member received a gift they wouldn’t share with you? How did it make you feel?
Review prepared by Jim Collins, MACE, Entering Cohort Fall 2007
Once a Mouse by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
