The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Cleary, Beverly

ISBN 10: 0688316980 ISBN 13: 9780688316983

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 1965

Synopsis

A young mouse named Ralph looked out Of his mousehole in Room 215 of the Mountain View Inn. The new tenant of the room, a boy, was playing with a little motorcycle just the right size for a mouse. Ralph could hardly wait till the boy left the room. Hurriedly he scrambled up the telephone cord to the bedside table, where the motorcycle was parked. With growing excitement, Ralph mounted the handsome machine and grasped its handgrips. Suddenly the telephone rang, and the motorcycle with its rider rolled off the table into the metal wastebasket. Ralph was sure he was doomed to be thrown out with the trash. Instead, the mouse found an unexpected career as a motorcyclist opening up to him.

Beverly Cleary's first excursion into fantasy is a real triumph in the world of children's books.

About this title

Review

One might know that if Beverly Cleary were to invent a mouse, it would be a down-to-earth, boyish mouse with a proclivity for getting into scrapes. A good story!--Chicago Tribune

About the Author

Beverly Cleary is one of America's most beloved authors. As a child, she struggled with reading and writing. But by third grade, after spending much time in her public library in Portland, Oregon, she found her skills had greatly improved. Before long, her school librarian was saying that she should write children's books when she grew up.

Instead she became a librarian. When a young boy asked her, "Where are the books about kids like us?" she remembered her teacher's encouragement and was inspired to write the books she'd longed to read but couldn't find when she was younger. She based her funny stories on her own neighborhood experiences and the sort of children she knew. And so, the Klickitat Street gang was born!

Mrs. Cleary's books have earned her many prestigious awards, including the American Library Association's Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, presented to her in recognition of her lasting contribution to children's literature. Dear Mr. Henshaw won the Newbery Medal, and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Ramona and Her Father have been named Newbery Honor Books. Her characters, including Beezus and Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Ralph, the motorcycle-riding mouse, have delighted children for generations.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 1965
• ISBN 10: 0688316980
• ISBN 13: 9780688316983
• Binding: Library Binding
• Illustrator: Darling Louis