This retelling of the classic Aesop tale about two mice cousins experiencing each others' home life is beautifully illustrated throughout, particularly the country scenes which feature lots of striking animals.

My animal-obsessed three-year-old was enchanted with the drawings and spotting her favourite animals.

The words were as poetic as the drawings were beautiful – they fitted the illustrations very well but unfortunately took the book completely out of the reach of even my very wordy girl.

Phrases such as "the cold sky was propped up on great towers of smooth stone and glass" are an appropriate nod to the story's classical roots, but not to a young children's book. She quickly lost interest in the text, and just focused on the pictures.

As it is such an attractive book, I think this could make a good gift from a loving relative (but at £12.99, not a cheap one). It could well eventually become a nostalgically treasured book, but it is not one that would actually be read much by small children.

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