Monday 22 November 2010

Tumtum and Nutmeg: A Circus Adventure by Emily Bearn


October 2010, Egmont
240 pages, Paperback
Review copy

Children's, 7 +

Mice as main characters, a circus, thieves, mild peril, memorable characters, lots of food, plenty of humour

Summary from Egmont
Suddenly the General looked up and saw the most astonishing sight: It was a circus!

When General Marchmouse runs away in Arthur's toy bus, he gets a big surprise. A circus has arrived in the meadow!

But there's more to this travelling troupe than meets the eye, and soon he finds the village policemouse on his tail.

Nayuleska's thoughts
I love books based on animals! I think Nutmeg was my favourite character because she made sure that all the food was ready, and that preparations for the adventure were set in place before she and Tumtum went off to help their friend General Marchmouse. General Marchmouse really doesn't think things through and is a selfish mouse. He does have a kind heart though, and I felt sorry for him when he was in danger. I was a little surprised that Tumtum and Nutmeg didn't reveal themselves to the children (I hadn't read any of the other books in the series) but it all made sense near the end where it got revealed that Nutmeg was pretending that she was a type of fairy. The way she communicated with the children through letters was clever, and I really hope in the future the children can learn her real identity. It might mean they get extra food!!! The illustrations matched the image of the characters that I created in my head - my favourite was of Nutmeg and Tumtum in their house - they have a bookcase crammed full of books. 

Final conclusion
Tumtum and Nutmeg are a sweet mouse couple, who manage to get their friends out of trouble and help their local community. 

Be sure to read the other books in the series: Tumtum and Nutmeg, The Great Escape, The Pirates' Treasure, Tumtum and Nutmeg's Christmas Adventure, A Seaside Adventure

Another book to try where animals mix with humans is The Golden Acorn by Catherine Cooper

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That sounds great. A little too old for my son yet, he's only 4.

Nayuleska said...

A series to look out for when he's older.