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| I want to knit these! |
September 2013, Make Believe Ideas, 32 pages, Hardback, Review copy
Themes: aristocracy, a mouse world, extremely large house, cheese, family life, servants, governess, helpful daughters, a forgetful father, housekeeper's wrath, sliding down bannisters, treasure hunt (of sorts)
Content: Drama, lots of humour,
Summary from Make Believe Ideas
Meet the Mouseton family and their staff, who inhabit the many rooms of Mouseton Abbey. Every Cheesemas, the Mouseton
family has a banquet, where each mouse gets a chance to hold the Great
Big Cheesy Diamond and make a wish. Everyone is preparing for this
year’s party, when
Lord Mouseton, a very forgetful mouse, loses the precious diamond!
Drama unfolds as the mice join forces to find the diamond before
Cheesemas dinner is served. Will Cheesemas be ruined? Or will they find
the Cheesy Diamond in time? Explore Mouseton Abbey to find out . . .
Nayuleska's thoughts
Although I've seen some episodes of the internationally known TV series Downton Abbey, I'm not overly fond of it - but I'm totally in love with Mouseton! I love mice in both real life and in fiction. I think they are
adorable, especially when they live like humans. What makes the mice of Mouseton special for me is the
fact that they are knitted. I love knitting, and admire the skill that has gone into creating the Mouseton
household. The mice are the only knitted items in the book - most of the book is illustrated, with a few
photos of items adding to the realistic feel of the story. I love how each mouse is named after cheese,
some I haven't heard of and would like to try (Raclette, anyone?)
My favourite mice are as follows; Raclette, not just for her name but I do like the maid's outfit, Miss
Swift who is formidable even with Lord Mouseton, Lady Mozzarella - 2nd daughter - is pretty in pink,
and the star has to be Lady Fontina, the youngest daughter. She is adorable with the way she peeps around
the kitchen door with her doll in paw, how she becomes captivated by a spinning top when they are
helping Lord Mouseton search for the Great Big Cheesey Diamond, how her doll is with her at dinner and sliding down the banisters - I so hope one day a story of Mouseton will focus on her.
The book missed a perfect grade because info about the history of the house was on both of the book jacket flaps as well as right before the story - I was expecting extra info, not the same 3 times.
Suggested read
Another sweet read which (if memory serves correctly) has some photos worked into illustrations is The Adventures of Abney and Teal: Bop's Hiccups by Joel Stewart (Children's, Picture book, 10/10 (pre 10E rated review)
The Mousetones On Holiday
It is a great privilege for Lady Brie to have agreed to not only show a few of her holiday snaps, but tell us a bit about them too. Here they are!
Greetings from Mouseton Abbey! We’re all back home after taking a tour of the UK and Ireland this summer. With the impending Autumn release of Mouseton Abbey and all our PR commitments, we decided to enjoy a holiday before celebrity stardom surely beckons! I do hope you enjoy our photos – Lady Gouda insisted on hogging the camera!
Hampstead Heath (Lady Gouda)
First stop, London and a delightful stroll around Hampstead Heath. We enjoyed one of Mrs Cheshire’s
legendary picnics, nibbling on a wide selection of cheeses. Here’s Lady Gouda at the top of the heath.
That sky looked a bit threatening! Luckily, we had Monterey Jack to get the carriage ready for us just in
time.
Buckingham Palace (Wensleydale)
The highlight of our trip! I came away armed with interior decorating tips and ideas. I feel a makeover
of Mouseton Abbey coming on! This photo shows Wensleydale imagining himself as butler to royalty. I
don't think we'll be losing his services too soon…
Durham (Lady Brie / Lord Mouseton)
Here I am with my husband, Lord Mouseton, in Durham. Great Uncle Gorgonzola was hoping to
enjoy some fresh air with a walk around the Durham Dales, but we spent too much time enjoying the
cathedral. Good job too, because I didn’t have my walking boots and goodness knows I don’t enjoy a
soggy petticoat!
Edinburgh (Lady Gouda)
Next, it was up to Edinburgh to enjoy some haggis and the odd thimble of whiskey. We even popped by
the Edinburgh International Book Festival to check out the literary competition, but couldn’t find a book that had quite such a stellar cast!
Here’s Lady Gouda (again!) against Edinburgh’s spectacular backdrop and later propping up a bottle
of whiskey. Note to self, DO NOT let Lady Gouda drink too much whiskey, unless you want to see her
dance the highland fling with men in kilts!
Eilean Donnan Castle (Lady Gouda)
And then it was across to Eilean Donan Castle, one of the most iconic images of Scotland. We fell in
love with the majestic scenery and had a rare moment of family calm before I realised that we had lost
Ricotta, Mozzarella & Fontina! Those naughty mice had scampered off to the gift shop. Luckily, theywere found by Lady Gouda, who was just checking out the whiskey selection.
Thank you for looking through our holiday snaps, I do hope you enjoyed them.
Yours truly,
Lady Brie
Thank you Lady Brie for letting us peek at what happened on your travels - sounds like all had fun! May your next adventure come very soon....
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