A Whale of a Tale

According to guest reviewer Lindy Michaels of BookStar on Ventura Blvd. in Studio City, out of all the incomparable William Steig children’s books, AMOS AND BORIS is the once closest to her heart.

Living by the ocean and always gazing at the blue sea, the little mouse, Amos, wondered what was out there beyond the horizon. And so, one day, he decided to build a boat, which he named “The Rodent,” and sailed away to see far away places.

He especially loved the nights, as he laid on his back, looking up at the starry sky and was “…overwhelmed by the beauty and mystery of everything…” Unfortunately, one night, so mesmerized by the beautiful sight, he accidentally rolled off his boat and into the dark, dark sea.

Through the night he tried to swim back to his boat, back to land, back to his home, but to no avail. And just as he felt all his energy leaving him, he was saved… by a whale! Boris! And yes, the great whale agreed to take Amos home. Along the way they talked of many things, sharing their deepest thoughts, their ambitions, their differences. And when the huge whale finally dropped the little mouse off at his home, they knew they would never, ever forget one another.

The years passed and one day during a horrific storm, the now older Boris was tossed around and around in the angry ocean, weakened by the violent waves and ended up beached on the very shore where his old friend, Amos, lived.

Could the tiny mouse possibly save his enormous, dear friend who once saved his own life? I won’t divulge the exact ending, but it will give readers, young and old, goose bumps and a lovely and satisfying sigh of… “ahhhh.”

The very versatile Lindy Michaels aims to inspire young minds through children’s literature. Lindy owned L.A.’s first children’s bookshop, OF BOOKS AND SUCH (1972-1987) where she did storytelling, taught drama to children, had art and poetry contests and the like. According to Lindy, “It was truly a ‘land of enchantment.” She also spent years lecturing on realism in children’s literature at colleges in the state. For close to five years Lindy has worked for Studio City Barnes and Noble (BookStar) in the children’s section and does storytelling every Saturday at 10:30 a.m.