Marcel's Mouse Museum

Hannah Abbo is an illustrator and writer from Brighton, UK. She currently lives in Lisbon, Portugal, with her son, husband, and cat. After studying Art History at university, Hannah went on to illustrate numerous picture books under the pseudonym Jean Claude.

There are so many children’s books designed to promote a love of the visual arts. This one definitely inspires some ambivalence, but, overall, I credit Hannah Abbo’s offbeat approach. Framing her book as a visit to a museum, she offers information about several different artists, as well as suggestions for projects that children can undertake to learn about different styles and movements. Gentle satire is a key element; if your child is unfamiliar with Frida Kahlo, then she might miss the humor of the painter’s mouse incarnation as Gouda Kahlo.The same will be true for Edward Hopping-Mouse, Parmesan Picasso, and the Furrealists. Fortunately, a section with brief biographies of the artists as humans, as well as a glossary, appear at the end of the book. You might want to start there.The museum is quite inviting. Beautiful endpapers with inspired and offbeat versions of artworks open the book. Marcel himself, working at the museum entrance, encourages enthusiasm about the “hundreds of paintings and sculptures by the most famous mice of the past 100 years.” Here, and throughout the book, his words appear in large font enclosed in speech bubbles against an orange background. A map and guide follow.Parmesan Picasso opens the tour, since he is “probably the most famous artist in our collection” It would be hard to argue with that assessment. Actual birth and death dates accompany each mouse artist’s name. Picasso’s Blue Period is easily transformed into “Blue Cheese,” and his alleged enjoyment of “sneaking into restaurants” is probably not far from the truth. The accompanying project instructions seem simple and feasible; children are asked to try a pencil drawing without lifting the point from the page. Results may vary.Henri Mousetisse is appealing to children through his paper cutouts, and his rivalry and friendship with Picasso are noted, as well, adding a bit of depth. The Furrealists, as an artistic movement encompassing many practitioners, gets four pages, including “Méret Hop-penheim’s Luncheon in Fur” (1936). The child sharing the book with you probably has not seen Oppenheim’s famous teacup, but I would guess that the entire idea is appealing to kids. Edward Hopper’s visions of loneliness certainly show “real life as it happens,” and so do the painting of his mouse equivalent. The mouse inhabitants of the diner look pretty sad, even if one’s bright red shirt is a cheerier shade than in the original.You will decide whether the book is aimed over children’s heads, directly at their parents and caregivers, or if reading it is a wonderful, shared experience. I would vote to try it with some background information, and a brief explanation of the premise. The visitors in the last picture, a cutaway view of the galleries, are obviously having a lot of fun, particularly the two young mice kicking a soccer ball in front of American Gothic.