The Rescuers (1959)

How did I miss reading this in my childhood? As I read every animal book I came across, I'm going to blame our public library for not having a copy.

It's a story of perseverance in the face of impossible odds, bravery and selflessness by characters that should be hiding in fear, and of humor in difficult situations. And Garth Williams illustrations are a plus! ( )

Well, it was written in 1959 so I guess that explains the parts where Miss Bianca has "domestic instincts" (as all women do) enough to find the pantry, and can't possibly be left alone as all she's got is her charm, and it's totally acceptable to think that beautiful women shouldn't have to do anything but be beautiful, just sit there and be pampered and beautiful. I mean, she's obviously very brave and caring, but she's still the lady and her two male companions (and she herself sometimes) act as though she always needs protecting and she can't do the stuff they do, like jumping through a grate...they're all mice, there's no other reason for her to not be able to also jump through the grate except that she's a lady, so the manly mice have to jump through first and then catch her in their handkerchief. Eva Gabor's Miss Bianca from the movie version was way cooler...though the dude mice around her were kind of gross and leery and "a woman on a mission? HOW NOVEL" she was completely confident in her own abilities and never apologized for being a lady.

Other than that, this book is pretty charming and lovely. ( )

It was very cute, though it’s nothing like the Disney movie, which I loved so much during my childhood. ( )

My Vintage Book Circle liked this better than I did. I'm not much of one for talking animals. The illustrations by Garth Williams are really wonderful. A good adventure story for younger boys. ( )

The Rescuers is a brilliant book, all about how mice go and save a Norwegian prisoner from the dreaded Black Castle. It is said throughout the world that mice are the prisoner's friend; they have a council called the Prisoner's Aid Society, and they go into tremendous efforts to cheer them up. But nobody, even a mouse, can cheer a prisoner from the Black Castle.
But, as the chairwoman points out, they can rescue one. All the mice say that this is absolute nonsense; how could a tiny mouse (well, a normal size to them) ever free a prisoner from such a secure prison as that? Well, the old and grand secretary thought that also, but the chairwoman seemed adamant with the idea. She picked Miss Bianca, a fiendish and beautiful mouse that the world had heard of, to find a fantastically brave mouse to do the job. She also chose Mr. Bernard to pursuade the delicate mouse to do so. Miss Bianca, after a reluctant row with him, soon decided to find someone; and she was on her way to see him, when she came across a Norwegian, and very brave, pirate mouse.
Nils.
Now, Miss Bianca was hurriedly jotting down a particularly awful map of where the Prisoner's Aid Society was positioned, when Nils thought that she may as well come with him and show the way, instead of him mistaking a rosey hat for duck-and-goose-ponds. So, though her misson was, it seemed, already accomplished, Miss Bianca chose to go with him, and Bernard did too.
When at last the three mice found themselves at the very foot of the evil Black Castle, they thought nothing of where they were to sleep, and, moreover, live, over the course of the mission. "Mission Accomplished" would not, highly unfortunately, be shouted out at any time soon.
But the mission is indeed accomplished, and the Norwegian prisoner, who happens to be a poet, is finally rescued. He is set free, and the Rescuers win many medals, the 'Nils-and-Miss-Bianca-Medal', the 'Jean Fromage', and so and so. But then, the Black Castle owners have no prisoner. They need another. How will the Rescuers get along in the next sequel? ( )