Are you content?

This week we will be talking with the girls from If You Give An Education Major A Blog. Billie and Cami will be exploring the book The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse. The ladies will talk about Paul Galdone’s book and why it is perfect example of traditional literature.

What were your overall thoughts on Paul Galdone’s adaption of the classic folk tale The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse?

Billie: I think that this story has an awesome moral to it. Kids really need to hear that it isn’t about how fancy your life is but how content you are.

Cami: I really enjoyed the story, although I have heard more modernized versions that I liked a little better. This particular version had some really amazing illustrations though.

So, what exactly is this story about?

Cami: The story starts out with two mice who are best friends. The country mouse is obviously from the country, whereas the town mouse lives at His Majesty’s Court. The town mouse was going for a visit at the country mouse’s quaint little cottage. Of course, the town mouse thinks that his friend is really missing out.

Billie: So, he invites him to visit his home! The country mouse is a little skeptical, but he finally agrees to go visit. While eating dinner in the fabulous dining hall a dog, a cat, and a huge team of servants barge in! The country mouse is completely frightened and runs all the way back home. He doesn’t understand why his friend would rather have a lot of things but constantly live in fear. The country mouse is completely content where he knows he is safe and has everything he needs.

Cami, you said you really enjoyed the illustrations. Tell us a little more about them?

Cami: Yeah, they were so colorful! I know that kids would be drawn to them. And I think that they showed a great contrast between the town mouse and the country mouse. The country mouse was in a drab brown robe whereas the town mouse was much more elaborately dressed.

Can you describe the plot in The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse?

Billie: Like most traditional literature the plot is very simple and sequential.  Each mouse is defined quickly and it gets straight to the meat of the story.

Cami: It could also be considered as cyclical, which is also a key point in making it traditional literature. I believe it is cyclical because both mice end up exactly where the started from, the town mouse in His Majesty’s Court and the country mouse in his humble cottage.

Would you consider this story to be a fable?

Billie: Most definitely! Fables are typically short fictitious stories with animals as the main characters. They also normally convey some sort of moral. And this story falls under all three of those guidelines.

Do you think that this would be a good story to use in the classroom? If so, what age group do you think would benefit the most?

Cami: I think it would be a great supplement when talking about different kinds of communities or classes of people. It really shows a good contrast between “high” and “low” class in a positive way. I think that the younger elementary school kids would take this book and run with it. It would definitely benefit them the most.

Billie: I think that this book would be great in most classroom settings! It would definitely help kids learn to be content with where they are in their lives. Like Cami mentioned before, I think that most kids would really be drawn into the pictures as well. I think that it would go well in most elementary school classrooms. The plot is relatively simple so younger kids could grasp what was going on, but there are a lot of really great vocabulary words that older kids could benefit from.

Paul Galdone took an old fable and turned into an awesome book for the classroom. It has a simple plot for kids to understand but is still engaging and motivational. It shows that two people, or mice, can be friends no matter what their background. This piece of traditional literature allows kids to identify themselves with the mice and helps teach them how to be satisfied.