Herbert Fieldmouse, Secret Agent Book

When Herbert Fieldmouse, secret agent, undertakes a secret mission for the Queen, he finds that he must outwit the evil Dr. Whiskers.

Marilyn Courtot - Children's Literature

A bit reminiscent of David Wisniewski's Tough Cookie, O'Malley has created his own retro detective/secret agent character. In this tale, Herbert Fieldmouse has been directed to deliver a message from the Queen to Baron vonGouda (How many kids will know that Gouda is a cheese?) Of course, there is an evil cat stalking Herbert who manages to steal the message, but our trusty agent who is a little like James Bond and Indian Jones manages to reach the castle of evil Dr. Whiskers. He does it with the help of a femme fatale who is a Siamese cat named Pasha. Herbert succeeds in retrieving the message and makes the delivery. The contents are revealed and it makes him ponder whether he should have been a church mouse after all (again that comment will probably be lost on kids). Most of the puns will float right on over the heads of young readers, but the story can be read on two levels. It has likeable characters and enough tension to attract younger kids. The illustrations also look computer generated and that will also appeal to those kids who have grown up watching TV and playing computer games. They will have a good laugh at the way Herbert is able to outsmart the evil Dr. Whiskers. 2003, Mondo Publishing, Ages 4 to 7.