Anatole

by Eve Titus and illustrated by Paul Galdone

“Anatole” by Eve Titus and illustrated by Paul Galdone. Published by Dragonfly Books. A classic story of a mouse from France who realised that it was more honourable for him to earn his supper than sampling leftovers of people.

Anatole lived in a small mouse village near France with his wife Doucette and their six charming children. No mouse in the whole of France was happier or more contented than him. Every evening the husbands and fathers from the village bicycled towards Paris after dark in search of food for their families. They would sneak into people’s homes through secret passageways known only to them.

Anatole’s partner was usually Gaston. One night, Anatole overheard people in the house talking about mice as they were looking for food in the kitchen. A man and woman were talking about how horrible the mice were. They would rummage around in garbage, nibble untasted food, steal food from the table and were a disgrace. They were dirty and to be a mouse was to be a villain. Anatole was shocked and disheartened. He had never imagined that humans had such opinions about mice. It was a blight to his honour.

How could Anatole provide for his family after this incident? Could he ever steal leftovers again? What was he going to do next? He gets an idea while discussing with his wife. What if he could offer his services at the Duval Cheese Factory? Can he do reviews of the different types of cheese there? How will he be able to do that? Will his idea work? Read about Anatole’s journey to find out. This book could well be the inspiration for the animation movie “Ratatouille”.

My 7.5 year old has loved this book ever since he read it over a year ago. He appreciated Anatole’s thinking and found the story very interesting. The second half of the story kept him chuckling. This 57 year old classic still appeals to children and hasn’t lost its charm. The beautiful illustrations are mostly in black and white with some being in blue and red as well (colours of the French flag). We ended up buying the sequel to this book which was also very interesting. I will write about it in a separate post shortly.

Recommended Age

The book is apt for children aged 5/6+.

Reasons to Read

The fact that it is a nearly 60 year old classic which still continues to tickle the funny bone. For all parents who’ve loved the movie Ratatouille, this is sure to recall that movie for you and maybe you could go watch that with your children :)