Student Name: Chris Maynard

Purpose: Classic Chapter Book (Wide Reading Project)

Genre: Fantasy

Format: Novel

Grade Level: Primary/Intermediate

Subjects/Themes: See the above bookshelves.

School Use: Potentially in my classroom library because it is a classic chapter book that young students would find entertaining, with the messages of friendship really important.

Review: I read The Mouse and the Motorcycle way back in the day, though I didn't remember much about it. When reading it again some 20+ years later, I felt that the book, written in 1965, certainly seemed outdated at points (e.g., the quest to find one Advil tablet in an entire hotel of people was kind of laughable), though it was still entertaining and enjoyable for me. I especially liked the relationship between the young boy Keith and Ralph the Mouse, with both the human and animal seemingly on the same level at least in their eye (as for Keith's mother, that is a whole different story). As an adult, it felt great to suspend my belief and literally go along for a ride with the motorcycle-riding daredevil Ralph. Cleary did a great job of personifying animals, specifically the mouse and his family, which was like any human family in that it cared for each other and had concerns about survival/safety. Overall, I feel that this book is still relevant, at least for young readers, despite the passage of time. Such stories that give animals human qualities and focus on using the imagination are what excites young readers when reading, with Cleary having recognized and effectively demonstrated this a long time ago.