Wilfred to the Rescue

A brand-new story from Brambly Hedge, based on the enchantingworld created by Jill Barklem.

Brambly Hedge has flooded, and it is dangerous to go outside. Instead, little mice, Wilfred and Primrose, are playing indoors with the Vole children. But then, young Sissy Vole goes missing...

Is Wilfred brave enough to take charge of a daring, secret rescue?

PreSchool-Grade 2–Wilfred, a young mouse, becomes involved in an unusual rescue when days of rain inundate a nearby stream. The Voles must evacuate their home and come to stay with neighbors. During a game of Hide-and-Squeak, Sissy, one of the young voles, hides under an umbrella in a basket boat and falls asleep as it drifts away. Wilfred and Sissys brother join forces to save her. After several pages of anxious exploration, the young vole is found and safely returned to her worried mother. Readers will enjoy the books gently paced plot and satisfying conclusion. Done in watercolors, the pastoral setting, full of whimsical details that also serve as visual clues, and the sweetly executed characters add to its appeal. The text works well as a read-aloud and for newly independent readers. Children who enjoy visiting the worlds of Beatrix Potter and Kenneth Grahames The Wind in the Willows will take pleasure in this cozy tale.–Maura Bresnahan, High Plain Elementary School, Andover, MA
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PreS-K. Jill Barklem's Brambly Hedge picture books recorded the lives of Victorian-era mice residing in an English hedgerow. Evidently the first in a new series "based on the world created by Jill Barklem," this picture book is twice the size of the earlier ones. It features large-scale illustrations suitable for sharing with groups and a shorter text designed for shorter attention spans. When the stream by their house overflows its banks and floods their neighbors' home, young Wilfred and his mouse family invite the Voles to stay with them. The children play "Hide-and-Squeak" together, but little Sissy falls asleep in a basket boat, which drifts downstream. Wilfred and his friend Horace set off on their raft to find her. While this book lacks the cozy format of the original small volumes, it offers a good story, appealing watercolor artwork, and a certain bucolic charm reminiscent of Barklem's other books and even The Wind in the Willows. Recommended for children and adults who enjoy the comfortable sort of adventure story, feel the call of the English countryside, or just like the thought of messing about in boats. Carolyn Phelan
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