Stuart Little by E.B. White has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine
Stuart Little by E.B. White has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine
Stuart Little is a mouse born to human parents in New York City. Stuart’s family helps him adapt to his diminutive size in a house made for human-sized inhabitants.
Stuart rises before the rest of the family and confronts the issue of washing himself. He climbs up a small rope ladder into the family washbasin, only to be stopped because he cannot turn on the faucet. He finds that by hitting the faucet several times, he can induce a small stream of water to flow — enough to wet his washcloth and brush his teeth.
One day Stuart shows off his exercising prowess to the malevolent family cat, Snowbell. Stuart swings up on the pull rope for the blinds in the living room, only to eventually be caught between the shades. George, his brother, accidentally rescues him.
Stuart must watch out for dogs when he is outside the home and enjoys watching model boats race and sail on the lake in Central Park. He watches the boats until he finds one he likes. Then he locates the boat’s owner.
Stuart accepts a challenge to race a schooner. If he wins the race, he will be offered a position on the boat he likes. Stuart races and wins. Then he meets a wren named Margalo. The two become friends, but Snowbell and her acquaintance want to kill Margalo. Stuart saves Margalo, and she chooses to find a safer place to live.
The boat owner gives Stuart the use of a model car that works with gasoline. Stuart leaves home to find Margalo and see more of the world. Along the way, Stuart works as a substitute teacher and meets a girl named Harriet, who is near his size. They go on an unsuccessful date, and then Stuart continues his search for Margalo.
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When Stuart asks his substitute class if there is a “King of the World,” one of the students responds that no such person exists.
Stuart’s family believes in luck.
Mr. Little exercises his authority over his family; however, he is kind and helpful. When Mrs. Little’s ring falls down the bathroom drain, he drops what he is doing to help retrieve it. When his son George attempts to pry up the kitchen floor to search for Stuart, Mr. Little reminds George that he does not own the house and that he (Mr. Little) has control over what happens in it. Mrs. is sympathetic to Stuart’s troubles and helpful, but she leaves decisions to her husband.
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