Douglas

Gr 2-4--Douglas Fairbanks was a star of silent film, known for playing dashing rogues like Don Juan, Zorro, and Robin Hood. "Douglas Fairbanks" is also the name of a small female mouse in this adorable book. The tiny rodent is given that name by Iris Espinosa, a young girl who picks up the mouse at the Majestic Cinema and names it after her favorite screen actor. That chance meeting is the first of a series of adventures for Douglas, who goes on wild adventures like her namesake, except on a smaller scale: riding in coat pockets, fleeing hungry felines, and swinging from clotheslines. Told in four acts, each page has no more than two paragraphs. The text includes no dialogue, as if it too were a silent movie. The duotone artwork also recalls these black-and-white films of the past. Each act is introduced with a dramatic two-page panoramic spread of the city block where Douglas has her adventures. Above the jagged rooftops are clouds that look like kernels of freshly popped popcorn. The text is accompanied by more intimate circular illustrations, each one a peephole into the charming town of Bloomville. The story takes place over a few days but feels like the adventure of a lifetime. VERDICT Cecil's tale is reminiscent of Kate DiCamillo, Beverly Cleary, or any other author exploring the inner lives of animals and how they interact with a human world that can be big and scary, as well as full of love and friendship.--Chance Lee Joyner, Wilton Public and Gregg Free Library, NH