John Hutchinson

A year ago I took a quasi-sabbatical from painting and set out to pull from my memory, and set down on paper, a story that my mother often told me when I was five and six years old. All I remembered was that it was an instructive narrative about a young mouse who pays a visit to the seashore. This was her way of teaching me about some of the small creatures who inhabit the beach. It was a regular at night time or on afternoons when I lay sick in bed. I loved that tale for, clearly, I was Bertie.

Sadly, this was all I could recall of her magical story. However, once I had put on paper that minimal recollection, the inner mouse took over. Not long afterward "Bertie's Adventure at the Beach" had emerged, and this book for the young, and not-so-young, had become a reality.

Along the way my daughter, Scout, supplied the illustrations, which are beguiling and wholly in tune with the spirit of the book. They perfectly compliment the story of that inexperienced field mouse who slips away from his parents’ home near the sea for an unsanctioned visit to the shore. There he encounters a friendly and worldly seagull named Sebastian, who guides him on a sortie onto the beautiful but scary beach. On their journey from the dunes to the water's edge they encounter a number of denizens of the shore and Bertie learns some of their ways and habits. He survives several hair-raising moments to return safely to his home at the edge of a cornfield.

A sequel, "Bertie’s Adventure at Skull Island", is awaiting publication.

To learn more about Bertie’s next exploit, go to his website: 

bertiesadventureatthebeach.com.