#482 - White Mice
by Ruskin Bond and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan
“White Mice” by Ruskin Bond and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan. Published by Penguin. A memorable tale of sweet revenge by the evergreen Rusty.
Rusty recounts an incident in this story from the time he was nine or ten years old. After spending a part of his vacation at his grandparents home in Dehra, Rusty had to get back to Delhi to his parents. His granny entrusted uncle Ken with the responsibility of putting Rusty on the train to Delhi. And uncle Ken had goofed up badly putting him on a train to Lucknow instead. Poor Rusty did not realise the mistake till some time had passed.
After reaching Lucknow, Rusty was taken to the stationmaster Mr. Ghosh and entrusted to his care. His grandpa was informed about his arrival there. He found himself treated to spongy and syrupy rasgullas at Mr. Ghosh’s home. The stationmaster had a queer collectible of a toy train which was filled with a mischief of white mice. When Rusty’s grandpa arrived to pick him, Mr Ghosh gave them a parting gift of two of his white mice. An idea flashed in Rusty’s mischievous mind. He could think of a perfect way to get back at uncle Ken. What was this plan? Would uncle Ken come to know of it? Can Rusty have his payback? Will his scatterbrained uncle learn a lesson for putting him on the wrong train? Read this unforgettable tale from the master storyteller to savour an unexpected adventure featuring an unusual combination of white mice and white rasgullas.
The book proved to be a charming read. The plot is thick with mischief, innocence, fun and adventure. In his inimitable style, Mr. Bond creates a timeless tale featuring his most endearing character of Rusty. Being fans of his writing, both me and my nine year old couldn’t resist reading the book with anticipation of what would be done with uncle Ken :) We just couldn’t resist laughing out loud at the mischievous way in which Rusty took his sweet revenge. The delightful illustrations complement the story beautifully bringing the characters to life. The old world charm of a bygone era could be felt throughout the story. The book is part of the Puffin Chapter Books which are good for children who have moved on to chapter books and begun reading independently. It proved to be a perfect bedtime read for us ending our day on a happy and sweet note.
P.S - Some of the other books from the Puffin chapter books by Ruskin Bond that we have read and enjoyed are “Getting Granny’s Glasses”, “The Cherry Tree”, “Mukesh Starts a Zoo”, “Cricket For the Crocodile”, “The Day Grandfather Tickled a Tiger” and “The Tunnel”.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 6/7 and above.