My initial impression of E.B. White's first published adventure story: this is weird.

Stuart Little is a mouse born into a human family. (Okay, I tried to suspend my disbelief.) Then the story continues on to describe all the ways Stuart is helpful to his human family, such as climbing down a drain to retrieve a ring or pushing sticky keys inside a piano. (I thought that was a little mean-spirited of his family.) Stuart Little eventually becomes quite the adventurous type but amazingly none of the people he encounters thinks twice about a talking mouse, dressed in clothes. (Hmmm... okay.)

My favorite character was Snowbell. He wasn't a particularly pleasant cat but he added some excitement to the story. The illustrations by Garth Williams were cute, too.

Final rating: 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
Original publication date: 1945 ( )

Independent Reading Level: Grades 3-5
Awards: Newbery Honor (1946)

Stuart is kind of unpleasant and I was surprised by how little I enjoyed rereading this as an adult. My children enjoyed it, just as I did as a child. I have noted that other parents feel this way as well. ( )

My kids and I read Stuart Little together. They were surprised at the rather abrupt ending. Eventually, they came to think it was a good ending, because it ended with Stuart taking just the right road. I love how it left them with a head full of ideas about what might happen next. ( )

I vaguely remember the movie. This was just as weird and not as funny. Honestly animal books always suck. I think the only one I've ever read that I truly enjoyed was [book:The Tale of Despereaux|37190]. I like fantasy. And I don't mind talking animals. But I can't stand talking animals in the real world. It's always just weird and annoying.

Anyway, Charlotte's Web was better. This was short and not as developed. The plot kind of drifted along and ultimately went nowhere. It just ended on what would be a cliffhanger if I actually cared whether or not he finds Margalo. And he just abandons his family without a word. The only thing stranger is Margalo just up and leaving. Overall not worth reading. Although it wasn't particularly hard to get through, just somewhat boring. 1.5 stars. ( )