In this charming children’s picture book, we meet Pip and Squeak, two mouse brothers who share a fabulous house. Pip is a painter and has a tower where he creates the most wonderful pictures, but the fumes from his paint make Squeak feel ill. Squeak, on the other hand, is a singer, and can croon the most lovely arias, but Pip says the noise gives him a headache. So Squeak sings in his tower and Pip paints in his, and they never share the big room downstairs except for once a year, when they hold a party and invite all their friends.
At these parties, Squeak invites the guests to his tower and sings them a song, while Pip stays far away and sulks. Then Pip invites the guests to come to his tower and see his painting, while Squeak ignores the whole thing. But this year, well, something quite loaded with controversy took place. Both brothers decided to display their talents in the big room.
Squeak’s song would be longer and more grand than ever, and he would build a huge stage. Pip would create the largest paintings ever, and they would cover the walls. The brothers were becoming more and more angry with each other until they decided to work together. They put on a show for their guests that featured both their talents, and discovered that when they both were the star of the show, they were both immensely happy. And suddenly, the paint fumes didn’t make Squeak quite so ill, while the singing became more enjoyable to Pip’s ears.
Now the only thing the brothers have to fight over is, who makes the best hogberry nog? They didn’t offer me any, so I’m afraid I can’t answer that.
(This book was published in 2007 by Dutton Children’s Books and was illustrated by the author.)
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