First sentence: Miniature cats! Breathes there, in all the world, a mouse who is not stirred by those two words? Did the miniature monsters actually exist? Our leading mouse scientists were not certain, but they all believed the answer would be found in the Orient.

Premise/plot: This one was originally titled Basil and the Pygmy Cats. (It's being rebranded/republished as Basil and the Cave of Cats. On this one Basil and Dr. David Q. Dawson go traveling the world. There are two sub-stories--they are out to help a friend/ruler get his kingdom back AND to solve the so-called mystery of if miniature cats ever existed.

My thoughts: I thought this one was lacking in mystery, lacking as a detective story. It's like the series has taken a turn from being a detective story with a traditional detective and turned into a archaeological quest. This one was 99% world-building. That sounds like it would be a good thing. But imagine it more as an encyclopedia type of world-building. Readers are essentially getting a text-book education on mouse lore that is thousands of years old. Was I interested? Not really. It requires a LOT of suspension of disbelief. Like mice traveling the globe; mice ruling countries. It was just a little too much for me to really enjoy. I much preferred the idea of a mouse living in a mouse town in the cellar of Sherlock Holmes' residence. ( )

In this installment of this clever series, Basil is called on to explore a lost island where it is said miniature cats live. Could it be true? Leave it to Basil to get to the bottom of things! Though entertaining for children, this one also has a message and a moral. You shouldn’t fear the unknown and you should help others when you can. ( )

Basil and his faithful companion David Dawson go on a seafaring adventure to look for the lost island of the pygmy cats. It's a mild, very short and simple children's adventure - kind of a transitional chapter book for primary readers. I like Basil very much, even though he is the smartest, most awesome, best at everything kind of mouse. He doesn't even shoot heroin like the real Holmes, sigh. Basil instantly is able to speak the Pygmy cat's language, rescue the Maharajah, foil Professor Ratigan not once, but twice!! Yes, he's too good a mouse to be true. Alas. ( )

No valid German National Library records retrieved.