The Adventures of Francelia Whitefoot [Paperback]

John Higby (Author), Warren Dennis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1999 | Age Level: 9 and up

Alfonzo, the sophisticated but shallow and plagiarizing mouse, left his pregnant wife, Francelia, at the first sight of trouble--his supply of high quality cheese was cut off. Francelia was left to raise fourteen babies on her own. When Francelia disappeared suddenly, the animals in Sweetgrass Meadow came together to raise the children until Francelia figured a way to return home. The children grew up to be good citizens of Sweetgrass Meadow although they are slightly weird because of their upbringing. The four mice who were brought up by bullfrogs and toads, for example, seem to hop more than scurry as they move about.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Higby, the author, taught English at Appalachian State University since 1967. He taught Eighteenth Century studies, American Literature, and Bibliography and Research. Francelia is his first children's book. Warren Dennis, the illustrator, is a well known artist whose paintings are exhibited nationally. He taught art at Appalachian State University for a number of years until his retirement in 1994. He divides his time between his art and his give grandchildren. Francelia is his first venture into children's book illustrations.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

One morning a chipmunk who passed close to the great oak tree on his way through the meadow heard unhappy squeaking coming from Francelia's nest. He scurried over to the nest and peered inside. There he found fourteen little mice all hungry and squeaking for their breakfast, but Francelia was nowhere to be seen. He waited for a few minutes, thinking that she would soon appear with breakfast for her children. When she did not, he grew worried and went into the meadow to give the alarm that Francelia was missing. The meadow creatures quickly organized into two groups. Half of them saw about getting breakfast for the hungry little mice while the other half searched for Francelia. Providing breakfast proved to be not too difficult a matter, but those who went in search of Francelia returned with the unhappy news that she was not to be found. "What a frightful situation," said the bullfrog Cornelius, in his usual grumpy manner, hiding the fact that he was really a rather good fellow. "I hope nothing has happened to her," said a garter snake, giving a little shudder as he thought of the terrible owls. Nothing REALLY bad could have happened to Francelia, the meadow creatures concluded. When something terrible happens, the creatures of the meadow somehow KNEW. There is no way to explain it. Since nobody had this dreadful feeling, they reasoned that Francelia, though she was missing, was probably all right, but that did not lessen the difficulty of providing for fourteen hungry little mice. "We must look after Francelia's children until she returns," said a swallow. "It's the only civilized, neighborly thing to do."

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Parkway Pub (September 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887905162
• ISBN-13: 978-1887905169
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,607,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.