THE PIED PIPER OF PERU

A brave little mouse teams up with Brother Martin to find a way for the mice to live in harmony with the human residents of the priory. With its many hiding places, the priory is a perfect place for Juana and the rest of the mouse colony to live. They could find plenty of food in the kitchen and the pantry and could find cozy homes in the floorboards and many cupboards. Only taking as much food as they needed, the mice were able to have a happy existence, at least until Luiz joined the colony. His hunger for cheese makes it impossible for the brothers to overlook the mice and forces them to get a cat to resolve the infestation problem. The mice relocate to the linen closets to avoid the cat, but their food supply soon runs out and they survive on bits of sheets and leather. Finding the new damage that the mice have done, the Prior instructs Brother Martin to set traps and poison the mice, but Martin’s tender heart cannot allow him to hurt the mice. Juana bravely approaches Brother Martin and together they convince the rest of the colony to relocate to the barn where Brother Martin will feed and care for them. An afterword about Brother Martin identifies him as Saint Martin de Porres, a Dominican lay brother with a great affinity for helping others, including animals. Beautiful watercolor illustrations in warm earth tones with splashes of muted color depict the peaceful life in the 16th-century priory. A wonderful intersection of history and myth. (Picture book. 6-8)