Stuart Little (original 1945; edition 1945)

Although the adventures of the mouse, Stuart Little, were fun and adventurous, as an adult reading the story to my grandchild, the adventures seemed to have no real thread and hopped from one thing to another and there was not real thread or "moral to the story." Not really one that I would choose again. ( )

saw the film, don't own it, probably won't get around to reading it.

Summary:

Stuart Little is about the youngest son of the Little family who resembles a mouse. Stuart, though short and mouse-like, did not let his size or appearance hold him back. He was a vivacious mouse who had many adventures in New York. Stuart falls in love with a bird named Margalo, but she disappears one day. Stuart travels to find Margalo having many escapades along the way.

Personal Reaction:

I do not remember reading Stuart Little when I was a kid, but I do remember watching the movie. If I remember correctly, the movie was similar to but not exactly like the book. I enjoyed reading this book even though it was above the grade level I will be teaching.

Classroom Extension Ideas:

1. I believe the moral of the story is no matter who you are or what you look like, you can accomplish your dreams. I would explain this to the children then have them write a paragraph about the dreams they have.

2. Explain the moral to the children. Then instruct them to dress up the next day in a costume that represents their dream job. When they are dressed up, have the children tell why they chose this particular career. ( )

I really enjoyed this book because they also made a move out of it.The way that the author showed how little Stuart was was amazing. The fact that he was in so many situations because he was small was really cool.

This is a great book to read to a child or for an early reader to read. This story is about a mouse who is adopted by a family. He struggles to make certain family members like him. Eventually, Stuart fits right in with the little's family. Read to see what obstacles Stuart must face while trying to adjust to the new family. ( )

I think that story is fun for readers who are becoming more advance and are learning to follow multiple story lines within a book. The story line is bizarre and intriguing to read because there is always a new adventure or problem that has to be dealt with; keeping the reader from putting the book down. The book revolves around Stuarts' constant battles he runs into on a regular basis; dealing with Snowbell, living in a human house, saving Margalo, and his other plans for adventure. Overall I think that this story is exciting because it has reoccuring problems based on the main characters life style.

The theme of this book is friendship. Throughout the entire book, Stuart displays his loyalty to his friendships and is willing to go the distance to protect his friends. Readers are able to understand the importance of friendships and the characteristics that make someone a good friend. Overall readers will grasp the personality of the characters and be able to determine their interactions with other characters.

Loved it as a kid, but reading it to my kids now to find out the ending was rushed and many plot points were left unresolved. Disappointed.
flag ( )

This slight collection of stories is a fast read even when you read it slow. There is sort of a sly, subtle sense of humor lurking in these stories. I read a few of these to the kids when they were little but I don't recall ever getting very far, although I do recall the story near the end where 2" mousechild Stuart meets a 2" girl and goes on a failure of a date adventure. The illustrations by Garth Williams are quite good at capturing moments of the stories. I found it a little odd that the "story", or more accurately, series of stories, ended unresolved. ( )

Perhaps I would have felt differently growing up with this book, but as an adult this book struck me as profoundly weird. First off, a human couple give birth to a mouse, and no one seems to think this is at all strange. Their first son is human; their second son is a rodent. What? Anyway, this is basically a collection of Stuart's various adventures, including boating, substitute teaching, and courting a 2-inch tall human girl. I don't even know. The ending is left completely open, which I suppose could be inspiring for a young imagination, but I didn't know it was coming so I was a little confused at the end. Oh well. It was fine, and there were parts that were funny just because they were so strange. ( )

Stuart is a mouse born to a human family, the Littles, He is shy and thoughtful, but longs for adventure. His adventure begins when he goes in search for his friend Margalo, a bird that has disappeared form her nest. I used this book to introduce chapter books and read aloud in class. ( )

In this classic tale for children, the Little family adopts a son, Stuart...but he turns out to look very much like a mouse! As Stuart grows, he has many adventures within his home and, later, out in the real world. This is an adorable book filled with child-like adventure. Appropriate to be read to young children, or to be read by a 2nd or 3rd grader. ( )

The slightness of this book makes it a little bit unsatisfying. However, Stuart's adventures are described with White's exceptional skill. That it is set in New York is essential to the story, but off-putting to this reader who detests that city. ( )

The story is episodic, with only a loosely connected plot about Stuart the mouse being "born" to a human family, meeting and falling in love with a wounded bird, and then going out into the world to look for her when she flies away out of fear of being eaten by a cat.

Read as a child, and recently listened to the audio version with the family on a long car trip. I highly recommend the recording by Julie Harris. She is a terrific narrator, and the story's gentle humor really comes through in her performance.

I didn't remember how absurd this story was, but it is just as entertaining now as when I was little. My favorite episodes where when Stuart took over as a substitute teacher and when he had a miserable failure of a first date with the only other two-inch-tall person he had met. The ending still feels somewhat abrupt, though, stopping in mid-search. We were left wanting more Stuart!

Read first as a child; reread (audio version) in 2012. ( )

Stuart Little was very different when he was small. His parents thought he was underweight for a mouse. After Stuart became a adult he was great. He went to go live with humans the Littles. They treated him like he was family. Stuart was very helpful hhe could get things out of tiny areas. Stuart's best friend was his brother. It was hard for Stuart being around humans.

Stuart Little is a mouse and this book is about how he tries to find the love of his life, Margalo. Stuart Little was born from a normal family in a normal house. He lives with his mom and dad and brother, George and his cat, Snowbell. One day a bird name Margalo was flying and broke its wing. The Little's decided to help her and take care of her. When she is warned that Snowbell and his friends were going to eat her, she leaves. After she leaves, Stuart decided to go after her and bring her home. Near the end of the book, he still hasn't found her. But he has a good feeling that he will.

I give the book 2/5 because I didn't really like the ending but it was kinda good. I thought it should've been longer with it ending at Stuart finding Margalo and him living with her. ( )

I liked this book so much that....

Oh, no, wait, that's not right. *cough-cough*

*clinks a spoon against a glass goblet* I have an announcement to make! I have. An announcement. To make.

I liked this book so much, children, that you should have to read it...especially if you don't want to. That's right, it is such a magnificent triumph of the human spirit, that all adults should be force-fed it, and all those who have attained to the age of immaturity should be issued it as part of their standard daily rations, *especially* if they are too busy being with "Hamlet" or "Henry V", to care...

Oh, no, wait....that's not the right attitude at all, is it, children?

Oh well.

Because, after all, it is an especially *vibrant* work of literature, and it constitutes an important building-block of your civilization, and it summarizes important contributions of humanity to our yankee civilization, and perhaps one day, it will have been the corner-stone of Chinese civilization as well.

*someone dumps a bucket of cold water on him*

Well, I mean, *I* liked it.

Little Mouse: It's super!

(10/10) ( )

http://cozylittlebookjournal.blogspot.ca/2012/03/guest-blog-stuart-little-by-eb-...

Mommy (along with Daddy and Nanny) read Stuart Little, by E.B. White, aloud to Magda (she's two-and-a-half), ending around March 4, 2012, then interviewed her about it on March 7, 2012. Here are some of her thoughts on the book:

Mommy- What book did we read after Charlotte’s Web?
Magda- Stuart Little.
And who wrote Stuart Little?
Mo Willems wrote Stuart Little.
No, not Mo Willems. Stuart Little, by…
Robert Munsch!
No, the same person who wrote Charlotte’s Web.
Uh, the guy...
What’s the guy’s name?
(laughing) E.B. White!
Did you like Stuart Little?
Um…no.
No?
I did!
What happened in Stuart Little?
The boat was broken and the kids were still playing with the boat.
What is Stuart Little?
I can’t remember.
What animal?
Uh, Stuart Little. He is Stuart Little.
Is he a cat? Is he a pig? What is he?
Nope, nope. A cat!
A cat?
(laughing) He is a mouse!
What are some of the things that Stuart Little does?
Rowing his boat!
What was your favourite part of Stuart Little?
Charlotte’s Web too!
Did you like Charlotte’s Web better?
Mmm.
Yeah, me too.
Do you like Some Pig, by E.B. White?
I do. What happens at the end of Stuart Little? Does he go back home or does he keep travelling?
He keeps travelling.
In his car or his boat?
Uh…(thinking) in his car!
That’s right. Do you think Stuart will find Margolo?
Uh, he shouldn’t.
Why not?
Because she will eat him!
Margolo the bird? I don’t think she will eat him.
She might! ( )

This book is about a mouse who is named Stuart. He has a big brother, a mom, and a dad. The family also has a cat named Snowball. Since Stuart is a mouse, he likes to get up early in the morning and brush his teeth. He is too small to turn on the water faucet by himself, so he has to use a small hammer and whack the faucet until water comes out. Once his mom got her ring down the sink drain, so Stuart put on a little poncho and volunteered to search for the ring. After a little while, Stuart tugs his rope 3 times and is pulled out holding a diamond ring.

This was the first time I've read this book, and it was really good. In the story he meets a bird called Margalo. Stuart really liked her, and he gets worried when he overhears Snowball plotting to eat her. Stuart then tells Margalo, who escapes. Later, he meets a human girl, but there is something different about her. She's only 2 1/2 inches tall, even shorter than Stuart's 2 3/4. He takes her out to lunch, and he even builds a canoe to give her a ride. Sadly, it is destroyed by an unthoughtful little child who happened to come a cross it and start to play with it. It's no wonder this book is a classic. ( )

This book is about a talking mouse that lives with a family of humans. It is hard for Stuart Little to get around because of his size. One day Stuart was going on a bus. When Stuart went to pay the toll the ticket-taker almost stepped on him. Another time Stuart was being chased by a dog. But luckily, around the corner was a doorman so Stuart hid in his pant leg. But the main part of the story is about Stuart meeting Margalo.
Stuart doesn't have any friends his size until he met Margalo. Margalo is a small talking bird. Stuart first meets her when she broke her wing. Mrs. Little rescued her and nurtured her. Now Margalo was part of the family. One night, the family cat (Snowball) was talking with a cat about Margalo. But not just them two heard. A very smart pigeon was eavesdropping and heard too. So the pigeon wrote a note to Margalo and told her that she was going to get eaten by a cat and she needed to leave. So Margalo heads south and writes a note to Stuart. Stuart gets scared and is searching for her.

hardcover, 1945

8 to 12 years. In his Stuart Little, E. B. White chronicles the entertaining adventures of a charming, chivalrous mouse who is both debonair and wears a 'wrapper,' but also bravely sails a model schooner across a pond. E. B. White begins with Stuart's arrival into his New York family's home and describes his life and the problem solving his short stature requires. Then it charts his meeting of the wild songbird Margalo, how they save each other's lives, and how he searches for her in the northerly country-side after she leaves. Stuart may not find Margalo but he does find the love of searching and exploration, a worthy idea for young readers to contemplate. But it does make for one of the controversial elements about the book. Stuart Little may charm young readers with the idea of a miniature life amidst humans, but can leave them wistful for more plot resolution or practicing comfort with the lack thereof. However, E. B. White's succinct, principled prose perfectly suits his short, principled character. Garth Williams lovingly provides the pen and ink illustrations designed to show the perspective of a mouse. His detailed illustrations use perspective to give the reader an idea of diminutive Stuart really is. Each chapter is a complete story in itself and makes the book a delightful K through 5th grade classroom read aloud. It also is an excellent book for an emerging reader. A classic, Stuart Little is a must for every public library collection. ( )

This is one of those books that if you read too much into it, you could upset your current mental state. When it comes down to it, one word pops up. Love. Looking for the right love. Wanting love to be right. Searching until love is found. ( )

I don't understand why this is a classic beyond maybe the strength of Charlotte's Web carrying it along. Even though a lot happened in the book, it seemed a little boring. But more troubling, I just found Stuart generally unlikeable. Fortunately, I've read this book to my son long before he understands stories, so I'm hoping he won't stumble upon it again in the future and want me to read it to him....not sure if I could suffer through a second time. ( )

Stuart Little is a somewhat unusual book. Stuart is the second son of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick C. Little. He's also a mouse. You just have to be willing to roll with that unusual development. White proceeds as if a human family with a mouse for a son is the most typical thing in the world, and we fall right into the story of Stuart's life. He is a gregarious fellow, getting into scrapes and back out again using his wit and charms. My first grade son and I both enjoyed this classic! ( )