Z's Corner

Thelonius Mouse (written by Orel Protopopescu and illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf ) was a pretty good book that most kids would enjoy. It’s about a mouse that is very different from his family, which is boring and afraid. He is outgoing and has rhythm much like Thelonius Monk, the great pianist who is known as “one of the giants in American music.” In everything he does, he is always making music. He often messes with the house cat just to have fun getting away from him before he can get the chance to eat him.


The book has a whole lot of jazzy sayings and rhymes throughout that would entertain children and make them laugh. I know it would because even my mom laughed at one. The whole premise of the story though is about Thelonius Mouse getting into close calls with the cat which definitely makes this a page turner of a picture book. His parents warn him he will one day be caught, but Thelonius, being the daring mouse that he is, continues to play with the cat. He is almost eaten towards the end but once again gets away with his jazzy mouse swagger.

This book is pretty good if read aloud to a kid. I’d probably say it’s good for a child 10 or below. Anything higher than that and it won’t be quite as entertaining. I read it as if I were younger and not as myself so I could get that point of view. I imagined it as if I was in 4th or 5th grade and not 9th.
~ZJ