- a mouse born to a human family has various adventures only possible by his small size
- convo: alcoholic drinks mentioned a few times, drunkenness implied, magic implied, a crush is implied, Stuart runs away from home with no remorse and never returns, mentions a cigarette, deceiving parents, Stuart spends more than a whole day preparing for a date, lying
- language: x4 darn, gee, gee whiz
Type: chapter book
Ages: 7-10
Author: E.B. White
Illustrator: Garth Williams
The adventures will all be entertaining to young readers–from being stuck in window blinds to accidentally be thrown out with the trash. He gets to sail a man’s model sailboat and another man gives him a car just his size.
Later in the book, Stuart goes in search of his bird friend but is sidetracked by a girl his size whom he asks on a date. All his many preparations for the date fail, she leaves, and the book ends. We don’t know if he ever found his bird friend, nor do we hear if his parents are mourning the loss of their son after he ran away. The ending was all rather abrupt with no resolution to the already disjointed plot.
I know there are die-hard E.B. White fans in my bookish circles, and I respect the fact that some of his books are turning into classics as the passing of time is proving; yet, I can’t figure him out…or, rather, I can’t figure out the fascination with his stories. We’ve simply never taken to them in our house. Oh well!
See my review on Charlotte’s Web and The Trumpet of the Swan. May you find books your family loves and builds bonds over!