Squeak Street: Old Bun and the Burglar; Squeak Street: One-Shoe's Wishes

Squeak Street stories are a set of tales, each about one of the mice who live in the street. A poem at the front of each book about all the mice is a useful aid to identifying the characters who crop up in the books. Each story is short enough to be read at one sitting, and has a happy and comfortable ending; the books are ideal for an adult to share with a child.

In One-Shoe’s Wishes, One-Shoe meets a genie by mistake, who grants three wishes. However much to the Genie’s disgust, One-Shoe cannot think of anything to wish for at all – but eventually comes up with a solution to the wishes problem that yields much happiness. Adults will appreciate One-Shoe’s solution, which will lead to some conversation about the whys and wherefores of wishes.

In Old Bun and the Burglar, Old Bun receives a note about burglars who might wish to steal all of his collection of cheeses but a homeless mouse called Bert manages to foil the burglars’ plot. Although the solution to this story was easy, I appreciated the fact that both mice were willing to sacrifice their own safety or wellbeing for the good of others – another point worth discussing with children. (Also available in the same series: Fee-Fee’s Holiday, 978 1 905117 53 6, and Pink-Paw’s Painting, 978 1 905117 54 3.).