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MILLY'S WEDDING by Kate Summers

MILLY'S WEDDING

By

Pub Date: Jan. 1st, 1999
Publisher: Dutton

Filled with the myriad details that are part of planning a wedding, Summers and Kneen (Milly and Tilly, 1997) chronicle the activities of besotted mice Milly and Tom as they prepare for their big day. Readers witness the bride selecting material for the dresses, the groom preparing the house for his new wife, invitations being sent, etc. There's even the trite scenario where the best-mouse nearly loses the wedding ring. In this tale, Tilly has been relegated to a minor maid-of-honor role, making only a few brief appearances. The narrative at times grows ponderous: ""Milly took Tom to meet her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Town Mouse thought Tom would make a very good husband for their daughter."" Several of the romantic scenes between Milly and Tom have melodramatic overtones, as when Tom says, ""I could make the best house for . . . us. Oh, Milly! Will you marry me?"" Despite such moments, children will be amused by the sight of mice scurrying about in the name of this very human hubbub, especially in the enchanting fairy-tale images of Kneen's soft pastel artwork: Milly's carriage, drawn by a pair of beetles, and mice in all their wedding finery.