Time and the Clock Mice: Etcetera

An old man who is called to fix the huge, elaborate Branton Town Hall Clock built by his grandfather nearly 100 years ago discovers an intelligent group of mice living inside the clock

Grade 3-5-When the Branton Town Hall Clock grinds to a halt after 100 years of neglect, the clockmaker's grandson, an eccentric old man, is the only one who can fix it. He is captivated by the magnificent timepiece and by the extraordinary mice inhabiting it. Not only are they telepathic, but their very existence is integral to the workings of the clock. Just as the repair job draws to a close (speeded by cooperation from the rodents), he foolishly lets a pretty young woman in on the secret. Her fiance, a psychologist, wants the mice for research. Can the old man come up with a plan to save his friends? Briticisms enhance the modern English setting, where a cast of hilariously bizarre relatives and townspeople spice up the plot. The chatty, playful style makes the book a marked departure from Dickinson's previous novels. The narrator is so well characterized that readers are willing to make allowances for his rambling storytelling style. Even his technical digressions are spiked with anecdotal humor, though at times they threaten to muddle the many strands of the plot. Chichester-Clark's whimsical drawings are found on every page. Instead of chapters, the story is told through a series of "essays" on clocks, mice, people, etc. This book is for readers sophisticated enough to know that sometimes "etcetera" is the most important part.
Lisa S. Murphy, formerly at Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Evolution, the development and nature of language, and the concept of time are themes that have appeared again and again in Dickinson's ( Eva ; A Bone From a Dry Sea ) sophisticated YA novels and adult mysteries. Once again he tackles these topics, this time in an effervescently eccentric modern-day fairy tale aimed at a younger audience. Called in to repair the elaborate Branton Town Hall Clock which his grandfather built nearly a hundred years before, an elderly clockmaker discovers a colony of highly evolved, super-intelligent, telepathic mice residing in the clocktower. As his work progresses, the clockmaker strikes up a friendship with Tracy, "a really bright, adventurous mouse" who is fascinated by everything about clockwork. The story, including the mice's near-disastrous encounter with an ambitious scientist, is told in a series of "essays" on such subjects as clocks, mice, cats, science and people. In addition to offering an explanation of a pendulum clock's mechanisms that would be worthy of David Macaulay's The Way Things Work , the narrator introduces readers to a handful of his endearingly oddball cousins--including cat-worshiping Cousin Angel, blind Cousin Minnie (a fine baker and expert on bells) and that marmalade fan, Cousin Duncan. An essential part of the narrative, Chichester-Clark's exuberant, playful illustrations mirror the tale's whimsy without a trace of coyness. Ages 8-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Dickinson brings to this lighthearted, intricately crafted book several of his themes in such books for older readers as A Bone from a Dry Sea (1993): the relative meaning of time, the hazards of equating ability with virtue, and the joy of innovation. Branton's 99-year-old Town Hall clock, an elaborate tourist attraction featuring moving seasonal figures for each quarter-hour, has stopped. Summoned to repair it, its maker's grandson discovers living in it a community of tidy, intelligent mice. In 20 ``essays'' (e.g., ``Second Essay on Mice''), with rotating series on clocks, people, cats, bells, and even science, the old man describes in pungent detail precisely what ails the clock, his acquaintance with the friendly mice (they communicate telepathically, with pictures), and some curious interactions with his own cousins. In the end, after he foolishly betrays the existence of the mice, he works out a complicated scheme to save them from captivity. It works, but not before he learns that their moral generosity exceeds his own. Meanwhile, illustrator ``Emma'' (as the narrator refers to her) visualizes everything- -including pictorial mouse communication and clockworks--in her usual witty style. Unique, charming, and thoughtful, too--this could become a classic. (Fiction. 8+) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 3-6. After running for nearly 100 years, the Branton Town Hall Clock, the "Wonder of the World," has finally stopped, and the only person who can fix it is the grandson of the original clockmaker, who was never paid by the town. An old man himself, the grandson has been waiting all of his life for the chance to teach the town a lesson, but he quickly falls under the spell of his grandfather's clock and the task of getting it running. As he explains in a series of topical essays (on mice, clocks, people, cats, bells, science, and, finally, etcetera), the clockmaker discovers that just as his grandfather's clock is special and different, so are the mice families that live in the clock--the Hickorys, the Dickorys, and the Docks. These clock mice are intelligent and communicate with each other telepathically; somehow, their residence in the clock has struck a balance between their very existence and the extended running of the clock. The only flaw in the story, minor yet irritating, is that while the telepathic skills of the mice are charmingly and convincingly explained and illustrated, the clockmaker's actual discovery of this talent is unaccountably muddled and skipped over. In partnership with Chichester-Clark, whose frolicsome illustrations decorate every page and demonstrate the workings of clocks and clock-mice telepathy, Dickinson delivers an amusing tale of wonder, wit, and wisdom. With its cozy British tone and quirky style, the book is an appropriate choice for Roald Dahl readers who are begging for something else along similar lines. Annie Ayres