Title: Lilley the Pizza Mouse
Author: Ricky Kennison
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1-5246-2594-8
Pages: 24
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book/ Action & Adventure
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
Lilley the Pizza Mouse by author Ricky Kennison is a suspenseful and action packed children’s story about a mouse that likes to eat pizza cheese. What could be “suspenseful” about that? It is the sequence of events which gets Lilley caught by the exterminator and placed in a cage – awaiting death by an automatic “eliminator” machine.
Yes, from growing up as an only child (mouse) to a loving couple Mr. and Mrs. Mouse, Lilley had everything she needed in the forest. Roots, flowers, friends – making for an idyllic mouse childhood. But curiosity got better of her when she noticed a highway and against the instructions of her parents, followed it into the big city. There she smelled a pizza parlor and sneaked in. A world of smells and the tasty cheese got her to enjoy hanging out in the kitchen. But alas her fate was doomed when she was trapped in a cage.
Having been born on Christmas Day, Lilley was a very lucky mouse. After talking to the exterminator, rather pleading to be let free (and she promised to leave the pizza restaurant), her fate was left in the hands of the exterminator; as he “slept on it” for one night to decide if he should let her go or – well, the alternative was death.
So the suspense built to the climax and not to be a spoiler, Lilley was set free to live happily ever after in the woods. The day she was freed happened to be on Easter. So there it is – a story about being born on Christmas and having her fate decided on Easter. With the trials and tribulations of a mouse, out on her own, being faced with challenges and hardships (when caught in a cage), many of these lessons parallel those of Biblical morals. Even eating the tasty but forbidden cheese has a familiar tone to it.
Ricky Kennison has exemplified the risks of doing things without knowledge of the consequences, and with the dark element of death to those who disobey, he drills into children the best path is to listen to your parents. In this book, Mr. and Mrs. Mouse told Lilley to stay away from the highway and remain in the woods, but Lilley had to taste that pizza cheese. Luckily for her the exterminator was kind and thoughtful and by driving Lilley back out of the city and leaving her off in the woods made for a happy ending. However little kids going to sleep either reading this story, or having it read to them, will all grasp the seriousness of disobeying good advice and risk their lives – so it’s best to follow your parents’ wishes.
With uncluttered illustrations and a focus on the morality issues stated, Lilley the Pizza Mouse will find many readers who enjoy a thrill at bedtime. So move over the rats from Ratatouille and make room for Lilley, there’s a mouse in the house!
