The Mouse and His Child by Russell Hoban

The Mouse and His Child is a strange, lovely little book. It is rightly labeled “young adult literature” for its occasional dark themes and moments of gritty action. The story centers around two wind-up toys, a tin mouse and his son and their pursuit to become “self-winding”. Along the way they make many important discoveries about life and love and happiness. It’s a story about hope in despair and the courage to make dreams come true. In short, it is a very adult fairy tale. And I was charmed by it. One of the reviewers at Amazon called this “One of the best unread books for children”. He’s right.