Madam Squeaker

Pip Jones's Madam Squeaker is a gentle animal story for 5 year olds about a very small mouse with a very small voice.

What happens

Minetta Squeaker lives under the bottom step at Hollyhock House. A house that big ought to have crumbs enough for everyone. Tonight she's got three cracker crumbs, a speck of cheese and half a peanut.

That's because of the rats. Every night Bandit and his gang come thundering down from the loft and grab whatever the Two Legs leave behind. They even rip up the peas in the garden two weeks before they're ripe!

When Minetta tries to ask them to stop, nobody hears her. Not the rats. Not even her friend Billy the spider, who's right there in her cobweb.

Then an owl called Sage lands on the garden fork with some worrying news. The rats want the whole house for themselves. Everyone else is going to be sent to The Bogland, which is cold and wet and so muddy it swallows little animals up.

Sage's advice is simple. Minetta needs to find her voice.

But how does a tiny mouse do that? Her plan starts with a broken teacup (which turns out to be VERY useful). There's a climb up the stairs to the loft, which feels like a mountain when you're a mouse. There are doves who've been chased out of their home, and a lot of small animals to round up.

It's a lovely one to read aloud. The chapters are short, there are big sound words to join in with (SWOOSH!), and the rats' chanting is deliciously rude. Little ones will enjoy booing them.

There's a sweet message tucked in too, without any preaching. Being small doesn't mean you don't matter, and Sage says it in a way children will remember. If your child sometimes feels talked over at home or at school, they'll probably be cheering Minetta on from the very first page.

What to read next

For another little character with big feelings to get out, try Dimple and the Boo by the same author. Dimple the gnome misses his PopPop and can't find the words to say so, until a fizzy red Boo drops out of the lompit tree and starts saying things out loud for him.