SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

September 29, 2007 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Mrs. Marlowe’s Mice by Frank Asch

September 29, 2007 by Betsy Bird   Leave a Comment

Mrs. Marlowe’s Mice
By Frank Asch
Illustrated by Devin Asch
Kids Can Press
$17.95
ISBN: 978-1-55453-022-9
Ages 4-8
On shelves now

I used to think that employing a computer to handle all your illustrating needs in a picture book was a risky proposition. Then we entered into 2007 and suddenly there were books like Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug and the equally bizarre The Wizard using computers in radically different ways. Finally I got a glimpse of Mrs. Marlowe’s Mice, and now I think that it is safe to say that I’ve been won over to this style of artistic expression. In a sense, this particular book is a companion to Mr. Maxwell’s Mouse, put out by the same author and illustrator. Of the two, however, I may have to admit that I prefer this latest title. For cat lovers (and mice lovers alike) there’s little to compare to the sweet madness that is the world of Frank and Devin Asch.

To the casual observer Mrs. Marlowe is just your average librarian widow. But to those who know her, and know her well, she’s a very dangerous person: a mouse-keeper. Mouse-keeping is strictly forbidden, but within her home Mrs. Marlowe oversees a large number of happy well-fed rodentia. Of course, there’s always the suspicion in the back of the minds of the mice that perhaps Mrs. Marlowe is just fattening them up for the kill, but the real test comes the day when her home is inspected by two policecats from Catland Security. Though she’s adept at keeping the authorities at bay, when little Billy falls from his hiding space what happens next nobody expects.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

When I was a kid one of my favorite sequences in the Monty Python film And Now For Something Completely Different was the animated section that showed a huge rampaging cat attacking a town. It was basically a photograph of a real cat animated in bizarre ways and somehow, that imagine kept popping into my head as I read this book. I mean, the way that the cats are portrayed in the Asch titles is doggone weird, you have to admit. It’s not many steps from the cats here to William Wegman’s human-handed dogs. I had a bit of a time getting over Mrs. Marlowe’s furry palms, but you can’t imagine how much I appreciated that Mr. Asch the younger didn’t slap a head of hair on her or something. He did give her eyelashes (the international unspoken symbol indicating that an animal is a girl) but aside from that she looks much like a very real kitty cat. I was fond of just how attractive Mrs. Marlowe was too. She practically sashays across the room when distracting the police officers away from her illegal mousie brood. Her clothing is relatively conservative (we are talking about a librarian here) but she has just the loveliest way of reclining casually against a chair. It’s amazing the menfolk can look anywhere else.

The art in this book is really quite clever too. On the street outside Mrs. Marlowe’s home everything is brown and colorless. Even her normally deep green eyes take on a sepia hue before entering into her home. The little details are fun to find as well. Kids with sharp eyes will spot the cat across the street that ends up reporting Mrs. Marlowe and her hideaways. It’s also fun to locate where the various mice are peeking out as the two policecats go through the young widow’s home.

I love how you never really know whose side Mrs. Marlowe is on until the end of the book. With the multiple shots of the cat wielding a very sharp knife above a block of cheese, to say nothing of the cover, the author and illustrator work to constantly keep you guessing about Mrs. Marlowe’s intentions towards her “guests”. There’s a very palpable sense of Mrs. Marlowe living within a police state too. The endpapers of this book show the shadows of two cats over a city map. Below them, little flags portraying the heads of deceased mice dot the landscape, indicating where other mouse-keepers have been caught. Devin Asch is in danger of showing his hand a little too broadly when you spot the number on the Lieutenant’s badge from Catland Security, but I suspect that this is a detail that most people usually miss. By and large there isn’t a single identifiable moment in history tied into this story of a brave woman hiding an oppressed group from an unjust government.

It’s a charming little piece and one that I’m sure isn’t going to catch the public’s eye as quickly as it deserves to. Yet when it comes to fun stories presented in wholly original ways, Frank and Devin Asch have the competition beat. A great book that contains more than initially meets the eye.

On shelves now.

Filed under: Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
2007 picture books2007 reviewsDevin AschFrank AschKids Can Presspicture book reviewspicture books

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

March 2023

Review of the Day - Trees: Haiku from Roots to Leaves by Sally M. Walker, ill. Angela McKay

by Betsy Bird

March 2023

Review of the Day: Hands by Torrey Maldonado

by Betsy Bird

February 2023

Review of the Day: Afterward, Everything Was Different by Rafael Yockteng, ill. Jairo Buitrago

by Betsy Bird

February 2023

Review of the Day: Nearer My Freedom: The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano by Himself created by Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge

by Betsy Bird

February 2023

Review of the Day: The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri, ill. Daniel Miyares

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

BLUE FLOATS AWAY Turns Two!

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Faced with a Parenting Dilemma? Write a Book About It! Jacob Grant Comes By to Talk About NO FAIR

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Pardalita | Preview

by Brigid Alverson

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Post-It Note Reviews: Wish granters, brotherly mischief, a high-stakes scavenger hunt, and more!

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey Try Something New

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

SLJ Book Reviews Editors' Favorite 2022 Best Books Covers

Books to Take the Bite Out of the First Visits to the Dentist | Milestones

Three Creepy and Kooky Books for 'Wednesday' Fans | Read-Alikes

Hippity Hoppity Easter's On Its Way! 7 Board & Picture Books Starring the Easter Bunny

4 Middle Grade & YA Nonfiction Titles to Help Heal the World

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023