I just finished “The Mouse and the Motorcycle” by Beverly Cleary. The book is about a young mouse named Ralph. He lives in a hotel with his mother and two younger siblings. He wants to explore the hotel more but his mother will not let him. Then one day a boy name Keith checks in at the hotel and both of their lives change. Both Keith and Ralph can both understand each other and Keith lets Ralph drive his mouse sized motorcycle. They both help each other throughout the book and they really get to understand each other a lot. Whether it is helping to feed Ralph and his family, or finding medicine for Keith. I thought this book was good. It is very easy to read and to get to know the characters. I like that Beverly Cleary thought of a mouse being able to talk to a human and be able to ride a motorcycle. The two main characters are Keith and Ralph. Keith is just a young boy on vacation and loves playing with his toy vehicles. He is messy just like any other boy, but he likes having fun. Ralph is very similar to Keith. Ralph is very mischievous and quite daring. He wants to explore the whole hotel and go see the world. Now that Keith moved in for a week, he finally has the chance to do so. He gets to go to the ground floor and even outside of the hotel, thanks to Keith’s red motorcycle.This book takes place in a hotel in California. The hotel is old and not in the best condition. The only reason why Keith and his family are at the hotel is because his dad was sick of driving hundreds of miles, so they stopped at the hotel to take a break. I would recommend this book to younger kids. It is easy to read, and helps your imagination grow.
“The Mouse and the Motorcycle” was a fun book to read. This book is about a mouse named Ralph who lives in room 215 of an old hotel. Ralph is growing up and doesn't have the trust he thinks he deserves. A boy’s toy motorcycle changed just about everything in Ralph’s life. Ralph and the boy became friends. Ralph had to prove to the boy that they can be friends again and make everything better before the boy leaves the hotel. The book is told in the third person narrative. This story is about Ralph and how he gained more responsibility and became a grown up mouse. Ralph has many challenges that he fights through to make things better for him and his family. tThe book takes place in room 215 where Keith’s family is staying for the weekend. The story grows bigger and Ralph goes out of the room and all around the hotel. The time period for this book is unknown. tThe theme of the book is to fix all your mistakes no matter what it takes. It shows how you can lose something that means alot to you but if you do whats right you can fix it and even make the situation better. It also shows how if you help your friends they will forgive you. I would recommend this book to younger people, because it’s very fictional, easy to read, and it is fun. Children will like this book because there is a lot of fun imagery. I enjoyed this book because it made me laugh at the things Ralph does.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle is a great story of courage and bravery. Ralph, a young mouse, has always wanted his chance to explore and see the outside world but when he gets the chance he is too afraid to take it. A family with a son named Keith come to hotel where Ralph lives and it takes some encouragement from Keith for Ralph to rustle up some bravery and courage to do what he’s always wanted to do. This book can easily be implemented into a classroom lesson to teach the importance of friends who encourage you and that you can never succeed if you don’t take chances. But on that note this book can also be used to teach the importance of being sensible and only taking chances that are worth taking. Making poor decisions can be very bad and I think that this book can teach that as well as the good side to this young mouse’s story.
—Charles Falla
Review from an 8-year-old:"This book is about a mouse and a motorcycle that he rides when he goes out of a mouse-hole and onto a dresser. He thinks to himself, 'I bet I can ride that,' and later on he can. The motorcycle belongs to a boy named Keith. Keith and the mouse (Ralph) become friends. It is interesting because Keith and the mice can talk to each other but no one else can understand mouse talk. Ralph has many adventures. My favorite part is when Ralph has to get a pill for Keith, who gets a fever.I would give this book 6 stars- the best!"7/22/13
—Kate
My son is a 4th grader but reading at a 2nd grade level. I wonder if this story would entice him to make more attempts to read. He has working memory trouble which makes recall an issue. I love Beverly Cleary though. Maybe I should read it to him! Thanks for the review!
—'sunny
