A trio of mice living in a dollhouse in a New York City department store decides to hitch a ride in a shopping bag in search of an adventure. Taking a taxi ride nestled deep in tissue paper and stuffed animals, Marvin, Raymond, and Fats are deposited right across the street from Central Park, where they enjoy the day watching the people whizzing by on bicycles and, Marvin’s favorite, Rollerblades. Intending to return home, they bustle back across the busy street, disguised as bits of trash. There, Raymond sees something that stops their progress: the Guggenheim Museum. Once inside, their real adventure begins. Raymond is finally in his element, able to enjoy all of the artwork he has only read about. The spiraling ramp inspires Marvin to take up Rollerblading, which Raymond’s ingenuity makes possible. The real surprise, however, is Fats’s newfound talent as an artist. Combining found-object collages and condiment paint, his work is soon the toast of the New York art scene, garnering him a one-mouse show at the Googlestein (Guggenheim). Unfortunately, his status as a mouse makes it impossible for him to reveal himself—only his friends know the truth behind the mysterious artist. The mouse’s-eye view of the peculiar habits of humans and famous works of art will amuse and inspire young readers. Simple line drawings of the gang’s exciting adventures pepper the text. A whisker-tingling adventure. (Fiction. 7-11)
