Stuart Little

"When Mrs. Frederick C. Little's second son arrived, everybody noticed that he was not much bigger than a mouse. The truth of the matter was, the baby looked very much like a mouse in every way." So begins E.B. White's tale of a sensitive, erudite mouse that is somehow born to a family of humans. Mr. and Mrs. Little name him Stuart and make him a tiny bed out of four clothespins and a cigarette box. He is a welcome addition to their pleasant New York City home. He can do things that no one else in the family can do, like retrieve his mother's ring from the bathtub drain. But the Littles still worry about Stuart. They ban all references to "mice" in family conversation; they even tear the song "Three Blind Mice" from the nursery songbook. And they install tiny rope ladders to help Stuart make his way around the house. But he's good at taking care of himself, too. He can board buses on Fifth Avenue, and he can sail a boat like an expert seaman on the sailboat pond in Central Park. Soon he befriends a beautiful bird named Margolo, found wounded on the Littles' windowsill. He even defends her from Snowball, the family cat, even leaving his beloved home to find her when she suddenly disappears. He finds more than enough adventure in the outside world, but will he find his friend? Venerated author E.B. White has created another intelligent, lucid story about loyalty and friendship, featuring a charismatic animal friend at its center. Although recently made into a blockbuster film, readers are sure to be entranced by the world of Stuart Little that White has created on the page. Deftly illustrated by Garth Williams.