Albie on his way

The main story here employs the benign fairy-tale trope of a questing traveler who pauses on the journey to help out those in need. Albie, a mouse in red track pants, is summoned by the king, a pig, to deliver a scroll to a neighboring castle. Even though speed is of the essence, Albie interrupts the trip to administer first aid to an injured squirrel, retrieve a lost toy, and babysit for a harassed mother. He also meets his true love. Concurrently, a wordless strip running along the bottom of the pages shows what the king is up to during Albie's long absence. While the mouse's world is full of color, connection, and kindness, the king's monochromatic scenes suggest boredom, restlessness, and even grief, along with underscoring just how very long our deliverer's trip is taking. Humorously, Albie takes a wrong turn and ends up back home, scroll undelivered. The king, delighted to see him, throws the scroll into the fire and invites Albie to live in a cottage on the castle grounds, with visiting privileges for all the friends he made on his journey. (Looking back, we wonder what was in that scroll.) There's more to this fable than a tidy ending and the sheer visual fun of seeing a squirrel in a full-body cast. Sarah Ellis September/October 2022 p.49(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Albie, a rodent known for speed, sets out to deliver an important scroll from the king to the neighboring monarch, but detours interrupt his trip. After a series of good deeds, among them helping a squirrel family whose father was injured when he fell out of a tree, returning a lost ball to a "sad little critter," and looking after the children of a tired mother pig who needs to do her shopping, Albie encounters a threatening bulldog and must take a different route. Lost and exhausted, the rodent is rescued by kind groundhog Alma; Albie recovers and develops a close relationship with her. Finally, Albie arrives at the neighboring castle--or so it seems. "How surprised I was to find my VERY OWN king!" Albie has gone full circle without ever delivering the important message. But the benevolent king, grateful for the intriguing distraction, is more interested in hearing about Albie's adventures; Albie is rewarded with a house, Alma is invited to move in, and the two start a family. Albie narrates this German import, with colorful, charming cartoons bringing the tale to life. Meanwhile, a second story deftly unfolds in a wordless series of black-and-white shaded scenes below each of Albie's episodes, detailing the porcine king's rather lonely existence--an understated yet resonant message that friendship and connection are what enrich life. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Subtle and kindhearted. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.