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Monday, September 6, 2010

Tumtum and Nutmeg (Review)

Earlier this year I learned about some adorable mice named Tumtum and Nutmeg.  After reading about Tumtum and Nutmeg: Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall from Carrie (click for her review), I knew I wanted to add these mice to our collection.  I was absolutely thrilled to be able to read the newest mouse adventure, Tumtum and Nutmeg: The Rose Cottage Tales, with an Advanced Reader Copy from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.  This is a chapter book, for ages 8-12, but it also is a perfect read aloud for that age or even younger children, with illustrations every few pages.


Tumtum & Nutmeg: The Rose Cottage Tales
Tumtum and Nutmeg are two mice who live comfortably in Nutmouse Hall, looking after the human children, Arthur and Lucy of the Rose Cottage.  Adventures abound with these mice!  The Rose Cottage Tales contains two stories, "A Christmas Adventure" and  "A Seaside Surprise."  I thoroughly enjoyed both stories, written by Emily Bearn.  Illustrator Nick Price brings these little mice to life and takes me back to my childhood when I wanted a mouse for a pet!


"A Christmas Adventure" tells the tale of how Tumtum and Nutmeg seek out special Christmas gifts for Arthur and Lucy.  They have quite the run-in with Baron Toymouse, who they went to for help.  To give you a taste of his character, the sign at the bottom of his door reads, 
"BARON TOYMOUSE'S TOY KINGDOM
TRESPASSERS WILL BE EATEN BY
A CLOCKWORK CAT."
When Tumtum is captured, Nutmeg seeks the help of General Marchmouse.  I won't spoil the adventure for you, but it's a great Christmas story!

In the next story, Lucy and Arthur go and visit Uncle Jeremy in "A Seaside Surprise."  Tumtum and Nutmeg stow away in Lucy's backpack to make sure the children are looked after during the time away.  As it turns out, Lucy and Arthur help Tumtum and Nutmeg with a bit of a mystery.  General Marchmouse reappears in this story as the good guy who makes many mistakes. 

I took advantage of the adorable mice, big adventure, and a great story with  Tumtum and Nutmeg: The Rose Cottage Tales and tried it as our first chapter book read aloud with my almost 4 year old!  We'll save "A Christmas Adventure" for the Christmas season, but we are reading "A Seaside Surprise" together.  She seems to understand most of the story and is enjoying it.  We usually read it when she is eating a snack, but occasionally we just sit and enjoy the book, too.  (I couldn't wait to read the full book with her and had to finish it on my own!)

If you are interested in winning the first book in the series, Tumtum and Nutmeg: Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall, head over to Reading to Know for a giveaway!  In the meantime, mark your calendar for October 19th, when Tumtum and Nutmeg: The Rose Cottage Tales will be released!

Thank you, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing me with this book for review purposes!

1 comment:

Carrie said...

Not reading your thoughts on this one JUST yet because I want to be thoroughly surprised. But you can rest assured that my calendar is marked, er, my book is pre-ordered so it will arrive exactly on time! =D Can't wait!

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