Fine Life for a Country Mouse

Penguin Core Concepts

by Susan Detwiler

Fine Life for a Country Mouse covers the concepts Appreciating Differences and Family.

Based on Aesop’s beloved fable, City Mouse, Country Mouse, this book is a must have for classroom and at-home reading. Shy Tillie Mouse has invited her city-slicker cousin, Oliver, to visit her home in the country. But Oliver is bored by the country. So, Tillie decides to visit Oliver in the city. Everything is so luxurious. Until . . . there’s a cat! Stomping feet! A vacuum cleaner! The woes of city life are too much for Tillie’s nerves, and she returns home, happy and content to be back in her simple cottage in the country.

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2014

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated

[Sue Poduska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really? Another Aesop re-telling? Yes, and it’s worth every second spent with it. The illustrations are beautiful and memorable. The text is simple, yet informative. Details in the illustrations add to the modern feel of this ancient tale. A modern car nearly runs over the mice. The trucks, a train, the lay out of the street, and even the straight rows of corn are obviously modern.
This would be a great read aloud. The illustrations are richly detailed and lend themselves to actively spotting the lady bug and looking for other sneaky details. In the meantime, the reader is learning to appreciate what they have and that others may want to live differently. Even within a family, not everyone has to want the same things.