The Nut. (The Adventures of Lester Bowles Pearson Parker). Jocelyn Reekie. Campbell River, BC: Peregrin, 2016. 32 pp., pbk., $10.95. ISBN 978-1-896402-15-4. Preschool-grade 2 / Ages 3-7. Review by Linda Ludke. ** /4

excerpt:

“I’m counting on you,” she said.

Lester knew what that meant, too. It was because of his name. He’d heard the story often.

An ancient ancestor had heard the name on the humans’ t.v., and she gave it to one of her pups. Parker was the house-humans’ name, so she had added that, too. Since then, one mouse in each generation was given the name.

Lester Bowles Pearson Parker is a mouse who tries to live up to the greatness of his statesman namesake. His mother counts on Lester to feed his 39 brothers and sisters while she is busy preparing the nest for another litter. Peeking through a hole in the wall, Lester spies a tasty nut attached to a trap. He fantasizes about how “grand being a hero would be” and relishes the thought of getting “the choicest piece of cheese”, and sleeping “in the centre of the nest and be[ing] the warmest mouse”. Reality sets in when he hears Jack Russell’s growls and sees his bared teeth. Despite the hazards, Lester rallies his siblings, and they embark on a food reconnaissance mission. Many “Tom and Jerry” cartoon hijinks ensue, including Christmas tree ornaments thrown as diversions, a fishing weight catapult, and Lester’s toothy hold on Jack Russell’s nose.

     Returning safely home with their bounty, the mice give three cheers for Lester’s initiatives. The ending, however, is somewhat anticlimactic. Lester’s siblings are still hungry, but they concede, “Well, at least we got the nut for Mom.” The final paragraphs see Lester musing about going down into the basement for food, and his brother Scruff granting, “I guess you do know something.”

     Black and white illustrations accompany the text. The body proportions seem a bit distorted in some of the drawings. In one illustration, a mouse climbing a cupboard appears to be as big as the length of two drawers. The page layout and design is at times uneven which hinders the pacing of the story. Some of the pages have a few sentences with the rest of the space left blank, while other pages are text heavy.

     This story about a mouse on the hunt for food and veneration offers some pleasing read-aloud moments.

Recommended.

Linda Ludke is a librarian in London, ON.

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