Fiddlesticks!
Written by Sean Taylor
Illustrated by Sally Garland
Published by Simon and Schuster Children's Books
I wholly identify with the mouse in this cute little story of perfectionism. You know how it is when you have everything just right, but there's just something that niggles at you, something that isn't quite right and then when you fiddle with the broken thing, you make everything else ten times worse.
Charlotte too knows only too well what it's like when she's building the perfect Lego house, and is just putting the roof on - presses too hard and the whole thing collapses in on itself! Oh dear! We've seen many a tantrum and tears.
Mouse notices a wonky window on his dream house, and when a helpful bear tries to fix it, mouse ends up in more trouble than he knows what to do with. One broken window. Thankfully squirrel is just passing by, and he's an expert carpenter. He sorts out the window but lo, he's drilled a hole in the water pipe, filling Mouse's dear little kitchen with water.
And so it goes on, until mouse's house is a pile of rubble, wrecked beyond all recognition by his well-meaning friends.
They do make amends though, in grand style much to mouse's relief. But wait a minute, what's this tiny imperfection with mouse's new pad?
This is a laugh-out-loud book in places, full of wonderful animal characters and though we suspect mouse is a bit of a grumpy little fusspot (Fiddlesticks is now a whole new word that Charlotte will shout at the most inopportune moments) we do love Mouse's house-tale.
Charlotte's best bit: Poor exasperated mouse's various exclamations when yet another thing goes wrong
Daddy's Favourite bit: Hugely amusing, and a tale I definitely identify with!
(Kindly sent to us for review by Simon and Schuster Children's Books)