Mouse Guard Volume 1: Fall 1152 by David Petersen (2007, Archaia Studios Press). Halfway through Special Topics in Calamity Physics, I lost interest. I was reading a line here, a paragraph there, a chapter during an ambitious afternoon and then this arrived in my PO box and saved me. I don’t remember how I learned of the Mouse Guard but the lush fall colors and illustrations drew me to it. Perhaps it’s nostalgia, although I shudder at the thought of being that corny and pedestrian, but it does remind me of some of my favorite elementary school reads—an encyclopedia about Gnomes and the illustrated The Hobbit.

Much like the lush worlds of those stories and art, the Mouse Territories are not for those with weak constitutions. Terror hides in every dark corner. Friends are lost in battle. Treachery and treason infect souls. I’m not sure if David Petersen intends his Mouse Guard to be children’s lit but I’m sure it will be considered as such. Taken that way, it’s the kind of kid lit I like. It doesn’t lie or coddle. It tells children what they need to know, not that bad things exist (they already know this) but that bad things can be dealt with (why do I feel like I’m stealing that from something I saw this week?).

Each chapter opens with words of wisdom from Mouse Guard text and guide books. I was particularly taken with this one:

"Clouds, leaves, soil, and wind all offer themselves as signals of changes in the weather. However, not all the storms of life can be predicted."

Recommended.