Book 1:Anatole and The Cat
Author: Eve Titus
Picture Book? Yes
January 23, 2008

Antole the mouse faces the classic problem situation. Yep, you guessed it, a cat. To his delight he works as a famous cheese-taster for the most famous cheese makers in all of France. He works at night, so the owner is unaware that his prized cheese-taster is not a man, but a fromage-loving rodent. When our beloved mouse faces the dilemma of a cat in his workplace he is nervous and mistakenly gives bizarre suggestions for improvements to the cheeses. One of his suggestions was to wrap the cheese in a banana peel for perfection. Poor Antanole must outsmart the cat or quit his job.
This book was an enjoyable read; with the personification of a mouse with a family, a job, and an aversion to cats (of course!) it is easy to see how a child could relate to the tiny character with fears, though I would expect his fear to make the child feel superior. The type of humor, absurdity, was a lot of fun. It was especially funny to read all of Antole’s suggestions for the cheeses: “Could be better, use crushed jelly beans” and “add six moldy marshmallows” would have had me on the floor laughing when I was 8 years old.