Monday, March 19, 2012

Tumtum and Nutmeg: The Rose Cottage Tales




Sometimes I find a book that is so fantastic I feel I need to shout from the rooftops, so everyone can hear, "Buy this book!"  Emily Bearn's Tumtum and Nutmeg series sits right at the top of this category of books.  In the summer, we found her first compilation of three books that I posted about here.  And a few weeks ago, we finished off her second compilation of three books that include: A Christmas Adventure, A Seaside Adventure and A Circus Adventure.  

The characters are so endearing.  Tumtum and Nutmeg, the married mice couple who live in Nutmouse Hall, love their human children - Arthur and Lucy - and will do anything to help take care of them.  They search out the perfect toys for Christmas since the children have no chimney and Santa could not get to them last year, and when Arthur and Lucy travel to the seaside to visit their uncle, Tumtum and Nutmeg stow away in their bags to watch out for them.  Trouble always ensues and General Marchmouse can usually be found in the thick of it. Whether it is finding a set of stolen teeth or rescuing General Marchmouse from the rogue circus - Tumtum and Nutmeg are always on a fun adventure.

This is one of my, and my children's, favorite stories we have read aloud.  After reading the first book, we had to take a little break due to the mice scurrying under our own floors.  Tumtum and Nutmeg are so cute dressed up in their clothing and the mice darting out from my own corner, well, were not.  But now that we are mice-free (hooray!) we dove back in and loved the second series as much as the first.  So if you are not familiar with this series - Buy it!  Get it from the library!  Hopefully you will love it as much as we do.

2 comments:

pie said...

I keep seeing these at the store and thinking they're so adorable. The illustrations look so cozy.

Tammy Flanders said...

Thanks for the recommendation. I will look for it for the Doucette Library (university curriculum library). Students are always looking for suggestions for good read alouds.
Tammy
Apples with Many Seeds