raised ranch house review

Price: $14.95
(as of Dec 22, 2024 03:28:15 UTC - Details)

An Easter story for young readers.  This is the tale of a little church mouse named Cheerful who lives in the city with his parents; his brother, Solemnity; and his sisters, Faith and Hope. Cheerful and his brother and sisters spend their time frolicking in the rainbow shadows cast by the church’s stained-glass windows and dining on the crumbs of wedding cakes. But while Solemnity, Faith, and Hope are happy to live in the bustling city, Cheerful’s favorite spot has always been the greenest patches of light under the windows. His dream is to settle in the country, and one day he bids his family farewell and sets off on an adventure.

Palmer Brown’s intricate filigreed drawings turn this sweet, simple story into an instrument of enchantment as glorious as a rose window and as intimate as the spun-sugar Easter egg that will finally carry Cheerful to his pastoral home.

From the Publisher

"Adorable is the word to describe Cheerful by Palmer Brown. A tiny book fitting nicely in small hands, it tells the story of a city mouse raised in a church by a sober churchmouse father and a light-footed mother. Cheerful—so named because his mother had urged to be when he was little and his long white whiskers made him look sad—played tag cheerfully with his brothers and sisters among the rainbow shadows cast by the stained glass windows, but he longed for his mother’s beloved woods and fields. How he reached them, in a glorious sugar coated Easter egg, and what happened then, will amuse and charm the youngest, oldest, and everyone in between."

—Chicago Daily Tribune

Cheerful's mother would tell stories about the fields and woods where she once lived, far, far away.

Faith grew up and married a mouse who lived in a bakery to one side of the church.

Under a cupboard, Cheerful made himself a bed in a cupcake paper, with a scrap of flowered calico for a coverlet to keep him warm.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1590175018
Publisher ‏ : ‎ NYR Children's Collection; Reprint edition (September 18, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 72 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781590175019
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1590175019
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7 years
Grade level ‏ : ‎ Preschool - 2
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.3 x 0.5 x 6.8 inches
Reviewer: Tim Lukeman
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A home in the country
Review: Gorgeously illustrated, simply but beautifully told, this little book for young readers should also enchant the adults who read it aloud to their children. After all, we were every one of us children once, curious about the larger world, eager to get out & explore it, just as Cheerful does. And as this is a book from an earlier time, nothing truly bad can happen to its mouse protagonist, even if there are some unsettling moments along the way. It's a reassuring little story told with quiet feeling, but without any forced & cloying "niceness"—no easy thing! And for adult readers, it's a reminder of childhood innocence & peace, something we all need from time to time. Most highly recommended!

Reviewer: seattlemama11
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: One of our favorites
Review: One of the most darling books we read all year. My kids, ages 6 and 8, loved it as much as I did. We originally checked it out of the library, but we loved it so much we decided to buy a copy. This also inspired us to read all of Palmer Brown's charming stories for kids. His style is gentle but humorous and sweet. Huge thumbs up for Cheerful -- you will totally fall in love.

Reviewer: Shawn MacKenzie
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: As delightful as I remember
Review: Cheerful is a treasured memory from my childhood and has not faded with the years. So pleased to have found it - esp. when so many books are going out of print - with story and beautiful illustrations as wonderful as ever.

Reviewer: John M ONU
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: great books for all ages
Review: This line of mouse books is really good, for all ages. Inspiring and comforting

Reviewer: Carl Paranksi
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Charming
Review: Unlike so many children's books today, this one has genuine warmth, beautiful artwork, and a heartfelt story...such a treat! Also, I appreciate the lack of cliches that typically plague modern-day children's literature - one can tell this is a story from another time period, and that's a good thing!

Reviewer: Tor
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Three Stars
Review: This book was sweet, but it wasn't all that.

Reviewer: Aliza
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A delightful book by one of my favorite authors from childhood
Review: Palmer Brown's classics, "Beyond the Pawpaw Trees" and "The Silver Nutmeg" enchanted me throughout my childhood. I was thrilled to learn of this reissue of yet another book by one of the most whimsical of authors. I gave it to my sister and she loved it!

Reviewer: Gina PB
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Childhood sweet memories revisited
Review: Cannot thank you enough. This is a treasured memory from my childhood, buying as a gift for my mom as a thank you. Gorgeous artwork, beautiful book.

Reviewer: Lino R.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: My daughter (aged 9) and I loved this book. The story is comforting and sweet and the drawings are really gorgeous.

Reviewer: Aging Music Lover
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Wonderful classic style reprint.

Reviewer: Orinoco Womble
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I adored this book as a child. Back in the early sixties, the children's library had a small-format copy on the same little shelf as the Beatrix Potter books. I read it again and again, and each time it was like walking into a magical world.Last week I suddenly remembered this book and bought it online. This edition is a much larger format; the one in my childhood library was as small as the Beatrix Potter books. Perhaps that is what makes the illustrations look so different to what I remember. It also occurs to me that the publisher of the old edition (probably the first) may have coloured some of the illustrations which here appear in black and white. After 47 years, my reaction to some of the black-and-white illustrations in this edition was an instinctive, "No--that's not right. It should be in colour."It is still a wonderful read and a sweet, gentle story. We need more books that allow children to be children, and open their imaginations to the wonder of small things

Reviewer: Marmot
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is a very sweet story! But I was annoyed that this is the only book I have thus far in my New York Review of Books Children's Collection that doesn't have the distinctive red cloth binding. Instead, it has a red paper binding, which looks cheap compared to the rest of the books by the publisher. I wonder if I got a dud copy?