Margot Austin (1909–1990)

Gabriel Churchkitten puts on his "thinking-hat" in this cute-as-a-button vintage picture-book from 1942, determined to find a way to prevent Parson Pease-Porridge - in whose church he and his good friend, Peter Churchmouse live - from keeping everyone up all night with his snacking and organ-playing. With the arrival on the scene of Trumpet - a friendly puppy who just happens to be at the door - the pair gain a new friend, and a new partner in their campaign to keep the good parson in his bed at nights. Finally, after many failed attempts - involving everything from hiding the parson's glasses to stopping up the organ with chewing gum - Gabriel remembers something the parson once said, and is inspired...

The second of a series of picture-books Margot Austin wrote about the small animal inhabitants of Parson Pease-Porridge's church - the first being Peter Churchmouse (1941), the third Trumpet (1943) - Gabriel Churchkitten has some of the most adorable illustrations I have seen of late! The black and white drawings (pencil, I assume?) are very much of their time, but will still charm the contemporary reader. Unfortunately, while I loved Austin's artwork, her narrative left a little bit to be desired, jumping from scene to scene in a very confusing fashion. The three conspirators are observing the failure of one of Gabriel's ideas on one page, and then, with no segue at all, no indication of it suddenly being the next night, they are considering the parson as he goes to bed again! It took me a few scenes to figure out what was going on.

Despite that flaw in narrative structure, Gabriel Churchkitten was still a (mostly) engaging story, paired with simply delightful artwork. Readers who enjoyed Graham Oakley's series of picture-books about a group of mice (and a cat!) who live in a church (The Church Mouse, The Church Cat Abroad, etc.), will also enjoy this earlier series, I think!… (mere)