The Mouse And The Motorcycle By Beverly Cleary

The Mouse and the Motorcycle is a portal back to the feelings and interpretations of childhood. It follows the adventurous young mouse, Ralph and his escapades around the faded Mountain View Inn. The book opens with Ralph’s view from his mouse hole of a new guest of Room 215. The daring Ralph’s attention is fixed on the guest’s beautiful toy motorcycle. When the guest, a young boy named Keith, becomes friends with Ralph and learns of his longing to ride the machine, he loans Ralph the motorcycle to zoom around the halls at night. The rest of the book follows Ralph as he takes risks and makes mistakes many humans would find shockingly similar to our own experiences. Beverly Cleary’s genius insight into the feelings of all children shines through in this lighthearted and exciting book.

Part of the relatable aspects of the book is its nostalgic setting. The Mountain View Inn rests too far off the highway for the average exhausted roadtripper. It was once a heart of tourism, but its glamor has faded into a quiet and worn refuge deep in the California foothills. Mrs. Cleary’s familiar descriptions create the illusion that the reader is at the hotel with Ralph and Kieth. In a show of her genius, we the readers only see as much of the hotel as Ralph can see. For most of the book we linger in Room 215 and Ralph’s family’s mouse hole within the walls of Room 215. In one exciting chapter, we get to explore the hall as Ralph enjoys a night ride. The rumored downstairs is finally revealed at the end of the book as Ralph ventures down the elevator in a quest to find an aspirin for Kieth.
Though the setting lays the scene for a sweet summer story, the amazingly relatable characters brought to life by Beverly Cleary are what have kept this book a classic. Once again, the reader feels as if they have met all these characters somewhere before, from Ralph’s worrisome mother to Matt the bellboy. Ralph’s headstrong personality drives the plot. His adventures are why we love him, but they also get him into trouble. Ralph makes mistakes and is hurt by the consequences in ways every human has felt. Despite his faults, it’s impossible not to be immediately drawn to Ralph because of his unshakeable confidence. A chapter I found hilariously true was Chapter 8: A Family Reunion. The aunts are silly, the uncles are booming, and the cousins are rambunctious. Ralph is unsure of what to say when giggling aunts come up and exclaim “Look how big you are now!” Even unnamed characters such as the lazy summer maid and a grumpy man who has to take his unruly dog out every night are obviously thought through.

In conclusion, The Mouse and the Motorcycle is a beautiful book, full of imagination, familiar descriptions and lifelike characters. I couldn’t stop feeling amazed at how accurately Mrs. Cleary framed the experiences of every American child in one creative, captivating book. If you don’t read it as a child, please do as an adult. There’s a good reason why Beverly Cleary’s name is famous in American literature.

Mouse and the Motorcycle

My grandson enjoyed this story. He could relate to the boy and the mouse. Great vocabulary challenge too!

Great book for boys or girls!

I wanted my own copy, for my children’s book collection. Though the cover is different than older versions, I was pleased to see that this copy has nice-sized text, that is well-spaced for easy reading.

I bought this as a gift for a little girl, who loves motorbikes. Her granddad rides one ( a Harley Davison)

This book was awesome because it had so much detail and times where you laugh and are super happy. I loved this book! (Written by Lorraines nine year old granddaughter) 📕📗📘📙📖📚

My 7 year old wanted to read his first solo chapter book and this one was great. Print size etc is perfect and even has some little illustrations. Only issue is some of the words are outdated based on when it was written but to be expected based on its age!