THE TALE OF JONATHAN THIMBLEMOUSE Jenny Lynn Winnipeg, Prairie Publishing Co., 1990. 55pp, paper $8.95 ISBN 0-919576-31-1. CIP Junior Kindergarten to Grade 3/Ages 4 to 8 Reviewed by Norma Charles Volume 20 Number 1 1992 January Jonathan Thimblemouse was a wee mouse who lived with his parents at the end of a meadow in a house which belonged to a quite wealthy lady named Penelope Pringle. One day, dressed in his new rabbit wool sweater, wee mouse Jonathan is unexpectedly served in the jam pot to the elegant lady guests who've come for tea. "Mrs. Pringle was quite befuddled over the whole matter. That's that, I shall get a cat!' "she announces. The cat is procured at a great cost and turns out to love mice. So the cat and the mouse end up being the best of friends. With all the magnificent children's publications available to choose from today it's difficult to imagine a child choosing this book. The line-drawing illustrations are not particularly attrac­tive and the story lacks a basic focus or plot, seeming to drift from one event to the next without any specific problem to resolve. The language is generally condescending in tone and the format of the book, a small but thick paperback, is not one that would invite the emerging reader. Norma Charles, Van Home Elementary School, Vancouver, B.C.