By Carter.
I’m still on a bit of a Caldecott buzz, so how about one from 1946? Anatole, by Eve Titus and Paul Galdone, is the happiest mouse in all of France.
A mouse named Anatole, his partner-in-scavenging Gaston, a misunderstanding, a briefcase, and a whole lot of cheese. So charming, so much to love! Anatole and Gaston hunt the streets of Paris at night for food for their little families. On bicycles! (This reminds me of the Tour de France – I can’t imagine any other mode of transportation a tiny French mouse would use, can you?) When Anatole overhears the humans’ true feelings for mice, he is determined to regain his honor and give them something in return for their scraps.
And what’s the one thing Anatole is an expert on? Cheese. The Manufacture de Fromage Duval will never be the same again thanks to the delicious spirit of a delightful little mouse.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Great pick, Carter! I loved this as a child, and I can’t wait to introduce it to my little one.
so sweet! I LOVE children’s books. no kindle at our house for bedtime. I like lounging with the boys looking at the sweet pictures and turning the pages slowly. I will have to find this gem. xxoo
Sounds like the perfect pick for our library trip today. thanks!
love! Can’t wait to read.xxoo
I love this! I am positively swooning. And when I’m done, I’ll promptly order the book for our daughter. :) Thank you!! xo
Swooning over your swooning. You will love it!
Excellent choice! This one is a longtime family favorite for me and my siblings… And now we’re all doing our part to introduce Anatole to the next generation too! :)
I love this book! I found a copy at a thrift store for 75 cents. I’d never read it, but the illustrations were so cute I figured I could risk 75 cents. Now, I think it’s one of my favorite books!
I’m so thrilled to see this favorite childhood read here! I like to think that my love of this book was an early sign of my culinary interests… Though I’ve since realized that truly great cheeses are not made en masse in a factory!
Love this book! Beautiful illustrations!!! And mice…always make for great stories. I can’t believe we don’t have this one…I just shared some of the fabulous “vintage” books we’ve been reading lately, the ones my parents saved so thoughtfully.
We stumbled upon this book on our Summer vacation and fell in love!!! It’s a favorite bedtime book.
A year or two ago we were on a kick where we’d choose a book from another culture, read it, eat something related (Anatole, of course, went with a fancy cheese plate) and sometimes watch a foreign film from the same culture, though that third part didn’t always work out with little kids. This post makes me want to revive that tradition!
I love that idea!
I bought Anatole from the library when they were getting rid of it, though I had never seen it before. What a lucky find. This has become one of our family favourites now!
Dear Design Mom,
I just wanted to thank you for sharing this book! I just loved it. I went on and shared it with my husband (children’s librarian) and he quickly added it to his little library’s shelves. Thank you for sharing it with us (I’ve added it to our baby book collection for our future littles) and with the classes my husband has now shared it with.
It’s such a sweet treasure.