#115 Young Fredle

Fredle and Axle, young kitchen mice, love adventures. One day on their travels through the kitchen cupboards they find the most incredible food - a peppermint patti! They begin to nibble it, and find it to be the most delectable food they've ever eaten. However, they eat until they're stuffed and can barely crawl back to their nests. Suddenly Fredle finds himself pushed out of his nest (which is what happens to sick little mice) and carried outside by the Missus.

Once outside, Fredle finds a place to hide and begins to discover all of the amazing things in the world. He meets new mice who live differently than his family: the cellar mice, the field mice and mice who live in the woodshed. He even meets the wild raccoons (and cleverly escapes from them!) and he becomes friends with the dogs, who help protect Fredle from the cats.

This is a marvelous adventure! It think it helps all of us realize how much we love our own homes, but also how valuable it is for us to learn about how others live, and to see that there are similarities as well as differences in our families and lives.

Young Fredle was written by newbery medalist Cynthia Voigt. Learn more about her, and her other books, at http://pme100.blogspot.com/.