Genre: Modern Fantasy
Age Level: 8-12
Summary: The Mouse and the Motorcyle is an adorable book. On the front cover of the book, it says, "Ralph is going to have the ride of his life!" Boy, was that an understatement! Ralph is a mouse, who has human-like characteristics, making this an animal fantasy book. Ralph develops a relationship with a young boy named Keith, who comes to stay at the inn where Ralph's mouse family also lives. Keith is an only child, so he has many toys, including a bright red motorcyle, to play with in order to pass the time. Ralph can't take his eyes off the motorcyle, because it is just the right size for him to actually ride.
Keith and Ralph become good friends during the time that Keith's family is staying at the inn. Not only do they enjoy each others company in the time that they can talk to each other, but they also begin to actually care for one another. Keith's only request of Ralph is that he does not lose his beloved red motorcyle as he is riding it around the inn. However, Ralph does not honor that request and the motorcyle is lost. Ralph is beside himself trying to discover a way to find the lost toy. During this time, Keith becomes very sick and must have some medicine to help bring down a fever. Ralph to the rescue!! Who better to search the inn for a small pill that someone may have dropped a long the way? This intriguing story continues on with an amazing ending, which also shows how desperately Keith and Ralph care for each other.
Reflection: This book is outstanding! I can't believe that I had not discovered this one before. It has been on my shelf at school for years, and I had chosen not to read it until now. Beverly Cleary has such a knack for making you actually feel like you are right there taking part in the story. I think this would be a great book to use as a read-aloud in the classroom. If I only had time to read one or two chapters a day, it would keep the students sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next. I could just hear them, "Awwww mannnn, please read one more chapter! We want to see what happens."
I also think this book would be a good choice in teaching characterization. Even though one character is a boy and the other is a mouse, it would be very easy to choose character traits for each of them. It would also be easy to compare and contrast their character traits, as well. The students would really enjoy any activity related to this book.
Big Questions: Why do you think it is possible for Ralph to actually ride the red motorcycle? Is it possible for a mouse to care about a human? How are Ralph and Keith alike? Different? Why are Keith's parents afraid of Ralph, and why are Ralph's parents afraid of Keith?
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