The Mouse and the Motorcycle
1965 children's novel by Beverly Cleary / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Mouse and the Motorcycle is a children's novel written by Beverly Cleary, illustrated by Louis Darling and published in 1965.[1] It is the first in a trilogy featuring Ralph S. Mouse, a house mouse who can speak to humans (though typically only children), goes on adventures riding his miniature motorcycle, and who longs for excitement and independence while living with his family in a run-down hotel.
Author | Beverly Cleary |
---|---|
Illustrator | Louis Darling |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | The Mouse and the Motorcycle |
Publisher | William Morrow |
Publication date | 1965 |
Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
Pages | 186 |
OCLC | 22460783 |
Followed by | Runaway Ralph |
The story and characters were inspired both by Cleary's son, who while recovering from a fever played with miniature cars and motorcycles, and by a neighbor who had shown Cleary a small mouse that had been trapped in a bucket.[2]
The book was released as a selection of the Weekly Reader Children's Book Club (Intermediate Division) and won the William Allen White Children's Book Award in 1968.[3] Cleary went on to write two more books featuring the Ralph S. Mouse character in the following decades, and a film adaptation of The Mouse and The Motorcycle was produced in 1986.