Freya & Zoose

An etiquette-obsessed penguin and a vagabond mouse accompany Swedish air balloonist S.A. Andrée on his ill-fated journey to the North Pole. Ready for an adventure after being stranded alone for over a year, Swedish penguin Freya stows away with a group that plans to travel to the North Pole via hot air balloon. But she is not alone--mouse Zoose, a scrappy Londoner, has been "living in this basket ever since they built it." Freya finds the mouse "vulgar," but as the balloon loses altitude and the group switches to sledges, the two slowly bond. Freya saves Zoose after they end up in a meltwater pool, and Zoose returns the favor after a polar bear mauls Freya. The animals continue their journey, telling stories about their past, tagging after the humans, and meeting a "blindingly beautiful" snow fox, who enraptures the animals but misrepresents herself. As Andrée and his team face grave danger and eventually die, Freya and Zoose realize that their future lies together. History and animal friendship combine to form a touching, if strange, travel narrative. Ages 8-12. Agent: Steven Chudney, the Chudney Agency. (Jan.)

Gr 3-5--A first-rate animal fantasy with themes of friendship and resilience. Freya the rock hopper penguin and Zoose the mouse become reluctant shipmates when they both stowed away on Captain Salomon August Andrée's real-life 1890's balloon expedition to the North Pole. The bird's wealthy Scandinavian upbringing has made her into a judgmental snob complete with a large inheritance, steamer trunks, and a known-by-heart copy of Mrs. L.C. Davidson's 1899 Hints to Lady Travellers at Home and Abroad (yes, dear reader, that is an actual book). The London-born rodent, by contrast, has skulked and thieved his way through Europe and has the tastes and diction to show for it. Both consider themselves ready to abandon the other as soon as possible, until the dangers of the ill-fated expedition put their lives in each other's hands. Told from Freya's third-person perspective in a droll mock-Victorian style clearly influenced by Mrs. Davidson's guide, this adventure story has it all: hardship, humor, and a narrative arc that shows the companions overcoming their past family traumas and mutual dislike to save themselves and each other. Thermes's winsome black-and-white illustrations capture the quirky setting, where proper penguins wear cravats and pearls to eat fish by chandelier light. This skillfully told first novel will make a popular read-aloud; it's a worthy successor to Chris Kurtz's Adventures of a South Pole Pig and Kate DiCamillo's The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. VERDICT A first purchase for all public and elementary school libraries.--Beth Wright Redford, formerly of Richmond Elementary School Library, VT