Martin's Mice - Dick King - Dick King-Smith

...produces eight babies, much to Martin's delight.

Naturally he has to keep his hobby a secret from the rest of his family, but since there are no other mice in the hayloft, and his siblings consider him a wimp, this isn't too difficult. Things are fine while Drusilla feeds and weans her babies, but after a while the bath gets too crowded for nine mice: Drusilla is fed up with the constant noise, and her children are desperate to escape. ...
...tom cat's heart, Drusilla's escape, Martin's own temporary imprisonment as pet to a town lady, his return to the farm, and more. It's amazing, really, how much action is packed into this short children's book!

• My opinion •

As with most of Dick King-Smith's books, all the animals are cleverly created, with their own natural characteristics seamlessly intertwined with human thought and emotions. Martin is naïve, but ... more

'Whoever heard of a cat who didn't like mice?'

Martin is a farm cat. He does like mice. However, unlike most cats, he doesn't like to kill and eat them. He doesn't like the taste at all. Indeed, he thinks mice look cute, and wants to be friendly with them, much to the disgust of his mother and siblings.

So when Martin accidentally pounces on a rather large mouse, he decides to keep her as a pet. There's an empty bathtub in the hayloft, which provides an ideal home. Martin not only finds suitable material for her to build a nest, he brings back food from around the farm, carried in his mouth. The mouse, Drusilla by name, is pregnant and produces eight babies, much to Martin's delight.

Naturally he has to keep his hobby a secret from the rest of his family, but since there are no other mice in the hayloft, and his siblings consider him a wimp, this isn't too difficult. Things are fine while Drusilla feeds and weans her babies, but after a while the bath gets too crowded for nine mice: Drusilla is fed up with the constant noise, and her children are desperate to escape. So, reluctantly, Martin helps them out of the bath, warns them about the dangers that might befall them, and lets them go.

Sadly, Drusilla is still not content. A remarkably bossy little mouse, she becomes broody, and then instructs Martin to find her a husband - and has to embark on a lecture about the facts of life (hinted at but not given overtly in the text) before he understands why she wants one! In the process of finding her a buck mouse, Martin meets an old and rather battered tom cat called Pug who turns out to be his father.

That's not all. The story also covers Martin getting to know his father, the softening of the old tom cat's heart, Drusilla's escape, Martin's own temporary imprisonment as pet to a town lady, his return to the farm, and more. It's amazing, really, how much action is packed into this short children's book!

• My opinion •

As with most of Dick King-Smith's books, all the animals are cleverly created, with their own natural characteristics seamlessly intertwined with human thought and emotions. Martin is naïve, but curious, and tries to ask questions in turn of sheep, cows and pigs - learning that sheep are stupid, cows only slightly less so, and pigs supremely intelligent, liking long words. Little pieces of educational content are scattered into the book - such as the meaning of the word 'omnivore' - but so lightly that a child would probably absorb this kind of information without even noticing.

There's humour in the book, too: for instance on meeting Drusilla, she informs Martin that she's pregnant, and he assumes that Pregnant is her name. There are even one or two places that made me chuckle aloud, and I'm sure this would appeal to many older children as well as adults, although the humour might get a little lost with much younger children. It's not necessary to appreciate the humour to enjoy the book; one of the great things about this author is the way that he can be read at different levels and enjoyed by all.

Most of the animals are slight caricatures. However I was surprised at how well-rounded the main characters are. The gentle, caring, naïve Martin makes an excellent hero to the book, and is someone that many children (and adults!) can relate to. He's teased for being wimpish, yet has his own brand of determination and strength of personality that enables him to stand up for his pet mice, and - later in the book - to escape from his new home, make an unlikely new friend, and find his way back to the farm.

Drusilla, too, is a lovable, if bossy character. She's grateful to Martin in her own way, and certainly considers the bath preferable to being eaten, but she frequently forgets to be thankful and orders him around. She has to ask for food and water, and often has to explain things to him, which she does rather impatiently. When Martin finds her a husband, Cuthbert, it's Drusilla who clearly wears the metaphorical trousers. Cuthbert is very easily frightened, and seems to have no interesting traits other than being good-looking and fertile!

My favourite character has to be Pug, the old, experienced tom-cat who's fathered dozens of kittens, and very much enjoys eating mice - yet is able to find it in his heart to accept his strange son, and to befriend some of the mice himself, slightly to his embarrassment. He's quite a lonely character, sad that Martin's mother didn't ever tell her children about him, and delighted when Martin returns to the farm after his captivity.

There are some delightful line drawings every few pages which add to the story immensely. All in all, I enjoyed this book when I first read it, many years ago; I loved reading it aloud to my sons when they were little, and when I saw it recently in a charity shop I was happy to buy it and re-read it again!

• Suitable ages •

The language in general is aimed at children of about 5-8, and a fluent reader in this age-group would have no problem with this book; however there are some complicated words, mostly uttered by the pig, which might daunt a child who is still in the easy-read stage. The book is an excellent one to read aloud, since it can provoke discussion between parent and child about some of the content - note that this could possibly include the reason for Drusilla needing a husband before she can produce more baby mice!

• Details •

'Martin's Mice' is 126 pages long. Cover price of the paperback £3.99. It's available at most bookshops on or offline, and fairly easy to find in second-hand or charity shops. I picked up my current copy for 29 pence!
 

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