Our children’s book of the month for October is Umbrella Mouse to the Rescue by Anna Fargher.
Umbrella Mouse – the blurb
Young mouse Pip Hanway is in France as she continues fighting for the French Resistance group Noah’s Ark: a secret gang of animals operating beneath the feet of human soldiers, whose aim is to liberate France and secure the victory of the Allies. Determined to reach her ancestral home of the Umbrella Museum in Italy, Pip hopes she can find long-lost family and a home. But as Pip makes the perilous journey through occupied territory, she soon realizes that danger comes from all sides and that the enemy is all around, and she does everything she can to fight for her friends.
Second time out
To The Rescue is the second book in the Umbrella Mouse series. I haven’t read the first but was attracted to the concept of animals secretly aiding humans during the war. We also hadn’t had an animal protagonist for a while so it seemed like an excellent opportunity to acquaint our selves with Pip and her umbrella. There’s clearly a lot that happened in the first book and To The Rescue takes place immediately afterwards. With this in mind I recommend reading the first, first!
How do seagulls get through a closed door?
The first thing that jumped to mind when reading was how well Fargher wrote animals. It would be a brilliant thing to discuss with children and to have them try out. What things can animals do that humans can’t? How does this differ between animals?. How do seagulls get through a closed door? The second thing that jumped to mind was how animals were actually used during the war. Children may be familiar with War Horse but To The Rescue uses a whole host of animals and manages to incorporate many real elements in to the story. I had no idea that dogs parachuted into Europe! And what a fantastic idea to think that animals were working alongside humans to prevent the Nazi’s from winning. It’s not too far a stretch to imagine animals making sure the swastika flew off the Eiffel Tower.
A happy ending
I loved the book’s happy ending and think it’s perfect for younger readers as an introduction to the war and some of the things that happened during it. It’s classed as middle grade but confident younger readers could easily manage this.
Book club questions
+++ These questions contain spoilers and should only be used if you have read the book already!+++
- Which animal would you most like to be in the book and why?
- Did you know hedgehog babies are called Hoglets? Can you find out the names of the babies for the other animals in the book?
- On page 29 the animals greet each other using a code “The blue horse walks on the horizon” to identify whether they are enemies or not. Can you come up with your own secret greeting?
- The book has some fascinating true elements to it – the first man to use an umbrella, the sky dogs. What was your favourite?
- The author describes some fantastic umbrellas towards the end of the story. Some made with precious metals, some carved into beautiful objects. Can you design your own umbrella, what would it look like?
- The book’s author wrote the first book on her phone whilst traveling to work. Can you write in a place other than your desk? Does the change of setting make you write differently?
If you would like to join in with our Children’s Book of the Month keep your eyes peeled when we announce November’s book in a few days time. Our review with book club questions is usually posted on the last Monday of the month and you can check out previous book of the months such as Orion Lost by Alastair Chisholm by clicking on the Young Adult/Kids button at the top of our Home Page.
