Independent Reading Level: PK-2nd

City Mouse-Country Mouse is a story about a mouse cousin from the city visiting his cousin in the country. When he gets to his cousin's country house, City mouse decides that there is nothing to eat, and that they should go to the city for a meal. When they arrive in the city, they find a table with all kinds of food. While they were eating, they heard growling and barking and had to escape from dogs. The country mouse decided what good is food if you can't enjoy it. This story is a folk fairy tale and easy for all children to read. I remember reading this book when I was younger and really enjoying it. This is a classic story and can really help children practice their reading. ( )

The country mouse visits the home of the city mouse and is so scared he escapes home and is glad he did.....

Summary of book:
The book City Mouse – Country Mouse and two more mouse tales from Aesop has three stupendously written stories about mice and their abilities and conflicts. The first, City Mouse – Country Mouse is about two cousins who visit each home. The City mouse visits his cousin in the country and hates it. After discussing a possibility of visiting the city, Country mouse and City mouse are scared by two ginormous dogs and Country mouse decides to go back home to his plain food.

The second story, The Lion and the Mouse, the mouse gets caught by the lion. The tension that Aesop created for young readers grows as soon as the mouse is caught! The mouse quickly persuaded him to let him go; even though Lion laughed he indeed let the mouse go. Not long after, the mouse found the lion trapped my hunters. The mouse chewed through the ropes and let the lion loose, proving that little people can do big things.

Belling the Cat, the last story in the book, was an exciting protest held by the mice. Once gathered together, the mice agreed that their number one enemy was the cat. She always sneaked up on them and they could never hear her. One young mouse stood up and told the mice that they should put a bell around her neck so they could hear her whenever she came up. However, an elder mouse spoke up and asked who would do so. The brilliant idea was quickly forgotten.

Personal reaction to the book:
These stories are great short stories for children who enjoy animals. Aesop’s tales entertain the students who like tales, but if they are truly listening they will understand that there is a moral to each story. For The Lion and the Mouse, there is a big lion that seems strong and untouchable while the teeny tiny mouse appears to not be capable of doing anything. However, as Aesop clearly demonstrates little people can do great things to help those in need.

Extension ideas:
1. After being introduced to the letter “M”, the students can list other animals that begin with “m” and draw their favorite animal from that list. Some animals could be monkeys, mice, millipedes, moles, minnows, or moose.
2. Using the moral of the story from City Mouse – Country Mouse, that the grass is always greener on the other side, have the students write a paragraph on what they think they are missing out of their life right now. Once they have completed this, have them write a paragraph on what they would miss if they were to have what they want.
3. For a creative writing activity, the teacher could have the students write a fictional or non-fictional story about someone little who helped someone big. Important things for the students to remember are how the mouse helped the lion. Ask questions like “how can you help someone, like your mom or dad, today?”, “can you be a helper in class?”, or “have you ever been helped by someone like a younger sibling?” ( )

**Reviewer's note: this review focuses on only "Belling the Cat."

"Belling the Cat," one of the stories featured in this short series of Aesop's mouse tales is about a group of mice who were meeting to see what action they could take against their enemy, the cat. A young mouse proposes to place a bell around the cat's neck so that all the mice would be alerted of the cat's presence at all times. However, when an older mouse interjects and asks who will "bell the cat," all the mice disappear, never to speak of belling the cat again.

The tale is retold as simply and directly as possible to the reader, ranging between 2-4 lines per page and using mostly high frequency words. Although the format is easy to read, the content remains engaging with a good balance of narration and dialogue - if read aloud, the reader can convey to the audience a sense of play and interactivity between the two elements. This story is well-suited for beginning readers ages 5-7, and sends an effective message about the young and inexperienced being idealistic, with ages comes being practical and wise. ( )