TumTum and Nutmeg by Emily Bearn

Although not especially erudite, my 11 year old summed up this book accurately: “It’s got a lot of good stuff and nothing bad.”

TumTum and Nutmeg are mice who reside behind a large wardrobe in a perfectly elegant mouse-home, hidden from the residents of the big home (Rose Cottage). Their married life is idyllic except for the concern they have for the children who live in the home: Lucy and Arthur. They live with their widowed father, a struggling inventor. Without a mom, the children are a bit neglected, so the compassionate help of the mice makes a significant impact on their lives: the mice clean, darn, fix the heating, and generally care for the needy children.

Until Aunt Ivy moves in. She is staying until her home is fumigated from mice. She discovers TumTum and Nutmeg, and sets out to find and kill them.

Now the mice have to take on Aunt Ivy.

This book has whimsically charming black-and white pictures every few pages. Our library carries the version with 3 stories in one substantial volume.

SAFETY RATING: 3 Flags