

This was before YA took off, and I suppose you could say they were middle-grade, but darker than most middle grade books of the time, or perhaps even now. Obviously most people here know about Redwall, but I rarely see the Deptford Mice books mentioned here (in fact, doing a search for them, I get "no community results"). until you rediscover them, maybe just see the names online and are reminded, or, like me, visit your parents and find the faded books on a shelf in your old room or in the attic. (Sept.We all have them - books that you loved as a kid, that held a clear place in your imagination, but that you forget about through long stretches of adulthood. The author conveys a sense of place powerful enough to elevate the South London boroughs of Greenwich and Blackheath to requisite stops on any bookish child's literary tour of the British capital. Jarvis provides counterpoint to the heart-racing adventure with scenes of haunting beauty, including Audrey's mystical encounter with the Green Mouse and the country mouse Twit's nocturnal flight over London. Numerous hair-raising encounters with the bloodthirsty rats ensue, until at last the valiant mice come face-to-face with Jupiter in a climactic showdown. Albert's daughter, Audrey, armed with a special ""brass"" bequeathed to her by the Green Mouse, ventures into Jupiter's realm to rescue her father her brother and a band of loyal friends eventually follow her. These worlds collide when the mouse Albert Brown is magically lured into the sewers. Jupiter, a villain par excellence, rules over the rats and emanates a nearly palpable aura of evil. Meanwhile, deep in the foul recesses of the sewers, brutish ratsDwhose primary diversion is hunting and eating miceDtoil at endless digging.

In an abandoned old house known as the Skirtings in the London borough of Deptford, a colony of gentle mice lead tidy, sheltered lives, follow their ancient traditions and worship the Green Mouse (a kindly god who resembles the agricultural deities of ancient Britain).

First published in Britain in 1989 and making its first appearance on American shores, book one of the Deptford Mice Trilogy is a spooky and enthralling animal fantasy just right for Redwall fans.
