The Island of the Skog

Retelling: The book begins with a society of mice living in fear of cats and dogs. After their party is interrupted by a ferocious cat, they decide to leave their homes and seek a more peaceful place. After a long voyage, they arrive at an island with a sole inhabitant called a "skog." Know one knows what a skog so the mice imagine the worst and make plans to defeat the skog before it can defeat them. In a delightful twist, the poor skog is revealed to be a much smaller, more frightened animal than them leading the society of mice to wonder what would have happened if they had only talked to the skog instead of jumping to conclusions.

Thoughts and Feelings: I enjoyed the juxtaposition of Jenny and Bouncer's character. Jenny was much more show more careful, more deliberate, while Bouncer aimed to take charge. Bouncer's haste was well balanced by Jenny's deliberation. I like that Bouncer lead a chorus of mice at the end instead of an army of mice.

Questions: What does Jenny mean when she says "we can all feel like kings, and isn't that what matters?" What does it mean to feel like a king? Do you have to rule over others, or can you just be master of your own destiny? show less

I agree this book is not my favorite but there is a lot to think about.

Do we attack first and ask questions later?

What happens when we do?

Kellogg's story is an adventurous tale about a group of mice, led by a strong female mouse named Jenny, who travel across the ocean to find a new place to live. Upon arriving at an island inhabited by a "skog," they fear that the skog is an angry creature, and they work together to make elaborate plans to take over the island from the skog. After realizing that the skog is really a small animal dressed in a large, scary costume, they decide to share the island and live together as one big family. This story is not only about adventure and encountering new places and people, but its endearing ending shows the importance of sharing and cooperating with others.

I felt that this book was very well written. It was also cute and silly the way it was written from the perspective of mice. I loved the moral behind the story and the pictures really made it come alive.

When Jenny and her other mice friends decide they want to move away to a more peaceful place, they finally settle, after sailing, to the Island of the Skog. But, what they find when they get there is this island is only inhabited by the Skog itself, a terrifying creature to these little mice. When the mice battle with the skog over who gets to live on the island, the mice discover that the skog is not a big scary creature after all and they all end up living on the island happily together.

The story is of a group of mice who are constantly engaging in conflict with the family cat. Finally becoming fed up with the dangers of living with a cat the mice decide to set out on a journey, in which they will find a new home and peace. They pack their belongings and set sail for Skog Island. Once on the island the mice realize the skog may be imposing immediate danger to them. They find ways to protect themselves and the story ends with them as friends.

This story tells of a group of young mice trying to find a better home for themselves. They partake on an adventure and sail to an island far away. They are surprised when they find that there is another creature, the skog, living amongst them, and try to scare it off! At the end of the book, after many tactics to scare the Skog away, they are happy to find it was just a little creature that was afraid of them! They all become the best of friends!