BraveMouse Books: Benjamin and Bumper to the Rescue

When Benjamin Middlemouse's mother goes missing from their home in the armoire, Benjamin and his friend Bumper (a small elephant who lives on the bed) go on a search-and-rescue mission that takes them into the kitchen, out to the garden...and straight up the stairs to Sir Pouncelot's tower.  Will they free Mrs. Middlemouse from her cage before Sir Pouncelot (ha!) bakes her into a casserole?  Well, yes, but how they do it--and make him promise never to eat mice (or moles) again in the bargain--is part of the homespun, handmade charm of Benjamin and Bumper to the Rescue by Molly Coxe, with photographs by Olivier Toppin (BraveMouse Books, 2010).

Benjamin, Bumper, Mrs. Middlemouse, and Sir Pouncelot, not to mention the miniature world they inhabit, are quite literally the creations of author Molly Coxe.  (You can make a BraveMouse like Benjamin, too!  Molly and her daughter show you how.)  They were photographed for this book by Olivier Toppin, who specializes in lighting effects that set a magical mood.  It doesn't hurt that the photos were taken in a medieval French village, either.

The interior scenes, like the one in Benjamin's bedroom (above), are filled with a combination of repurposed, miniature, and handmade items that child readers with an eye for detail will love to discover.  I especially liked the outdoor shots, too: the whole thing, from kitchen to garden, feels very French.  [A good thing!  More sample pages at BraveMouse Books.]

It's clear that great care and love have been lavished on this book, the first in the Adventures of Benjamin and Bumper series to come out of "mouse-sized" publishing company BraveMouse Books (a story in themselves).  The next book in the series, Posie and the Pirates, promises more small adventures for the BraveMice (and Bumper).  Watch out for the Roof Rats!

[N.b. Review copy provided by the publisher; thank you!]

The Blue Bird of Happiness Project

I read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin (Harper, 2009) during my blog break and immediately set about starting my own Happiness Project.  (Me and everyone else who reads the book, I imagine.)  I'll spare you the details, although it does involve more blogging--which brings me to this post.

At one point during Gretchen's project, she decides to collect bluebirds, because bluebirds are a symbol of happiness.  The connection arises from Maurice Maeterlinck's play The Blue Bird (1908; link is to Project Gutenberg), in which two children--Tytyl and Mytyl--search everywhere for the Blue Bird of Happiness only to find that it was at home all along.

And of course, The Blue Bird is the matinee performed by the students of Madame Fidolia's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training in Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes (1937).  Two scenes from the play are quoted at length in the book; I loved reading these as a child and imagining myself in the roles of Pauline-as-Tytyl and Petrova-as-Mytyl.  I collect books, not bluebirds, but they bring me happiness all the same.

[N.b.  I love the costume notes for The Blue Bird:

TYLTYL wears the dress of Hop o' my Thumb in Perrault's Tales. Scarlet
knickerbockers, pale-blue jacket, white stockings, tan shoes.
MYTYL is dressed like Gretel or Little Red Riding-hood.
LIGHT.--The "moon-coloured" dress in Perrault's _Peau d'âne;_ that is
to say, pale gold shot with silver, shimmering gauzes, forming a sort of
rays, etc. Neo-Grecian or Anglo-Grecian (à la Walter Crane) or even
more or less Empire style: a high waist, bare arms, etc. Head-dress: a sort
of diadem or even a light crown.
THE FAIRY BÉRYLUNE and NEIGHBOUR BERLINGOT.--The traditional dress of the
poor women in fairy-tales. If desired, the transformation of the Fairy into
a princess in Act I may be omitted.
DADDY TYL, MUMMY TYL, GAFFER TYL and GRANNY TYL.--The traditional costume
of the German wood-cutters and peasants in Grimm's Tales.

And many more, all of which I want to make.  Puppet show, anyone?]

Elizabeti and Fanny

An article in today's KidsPost about children making their own toys ("Creating Toys with Their Own Two Hands," 11/11/09) reminded me of two otherwise very different books about girls making their own dolls.  I'm very fond of Elizabeti's Doll by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen (illustrated by Christy Hale; Lee and Low, 1998) -- of all the Elizabeti books, really.  In this one, Elizabeti has a new baby brother and wants to take care of her own baby, so she picks up a rock that's just the right size, kisses it, and names it Eva.  Stuve-Bodeen's text and Hale's illustrations evoke the Tanzanian setting beautifully, but the focus of the book is squarely on Elizabeti's relationship with Eva.

Holly Hobbie's Fanny (Little, Brown 2009) is a very different book, and despite its more familiar setting and concerns--Fanny's mother doesn't want her to have the Bratz-like Connie doll Fanny has her heart set on, so Fanny makes her own doll--I haven't warmed up to it (we own it).  I wonder if it has something to do with why Elizabeti and Fanny are motivated to make their own dolls?  Or could it be the mere presence of the Connies?  If you've read Fanny, I would love to know what you make of it.  And if you haven't read Elizabeti, I highly recommend it!  The two make an interesting comparison.

Madeline's Birthday

We celebrated Milly's fifth birthday with a Madeline party at home.  I think even Ludwig Bemelmans (who never actually wrote a book about Madeline's birthday) would have been pleased.  Milly was!  Miss Clavel (that would be me) made twelve little girls-worth of Madeline coats and hats for Milly and the party guests; we did a dramatic reading of Madeline's Rescue featuring a special guest appearance by Lord Cucuface (Milly's dad); and we hunted high and low for Madeline's dog Genevieve, who turned out to be a dog pinata (retrofitted with pullstrings to avoid the appearance of animal cruelty).  Then we ate cake.

All of this was surprisingly simple to put together, I swear.  It did take some thought and time (and the writing of a bit of / bad Bemelmans-esque rhyme); but if your child has a birthday coming up, I would definitely encourage you to plan the party around the book.  And if your child's favorite book is Madeline, call me.

Joyeux anniversaire, Milly!