John B DeJordy

This short book packs a good punch. It has a fast paced plot and is full of many characters. It opens with young Picayune, a mouse who dreams of being a knight in shining armour. His village is attacked by Dragon and his friend Ameera is taken prisoner. The rescue party sets out to save her, but Picayune stays behind. He then feels challenged to set out on his own to find his lost friend, who he discovers she is really the princess. On his journey he grows from a timid mouse to a strong fighter through his experiences. He befriends a young squirrel, they are captured by the Badger Clan and forced to dig in the mines, they plan a daring escape and take several prisoners and one badger with them, and eventually Picayune helps bring about a peace between the Hawks and Badgers. His new friends rally around him and they all head off to fight Dragon and save the princess.

Every other chapter or so presented Picayune's dreams, an alternate reality where Picayune was a strong human knight who battles dragons, orcs, and assassins. His trusty horse is by his side, and he becomes an important man in the kingdom. They didn't make much sense until right at the end, where Picayune's last dream is recounted once he had returned home. This dream was different; he was himself, a mouse not human. He sets off on an adventure with Ameera while they ride their kangaroo mice, not horses. The main point to me was to show that Picayune had grown through his adventure and was finally content with who he was as a mouse. He no longer wished to live in a fantasy world.

Overall a good story, with a nice range of forest dwelling animals as the cast. It had some good themes of friendship and loyalty, how to join together to fight evil and save the day. Some parts could have used a bit more detail, the plot seemed rushed once in a while. But other than that it was a fun quick read.… (más)