Picture Book about Persistence

Of Mouse & Motivation –

Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse, (NorthSouth Books, $19.95, Ages 4-8) is written and illustrated by Torben Kuhlmann, and also includes a foreword by Bob van der Linden, Chairman and Curator of Special Purpose Aircraft, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Maybe you thought that Charles Lindbergh was the first pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean without a stopover when he made history in 1927 flying the Spirit of St. Louis, a single engine aircraft. But even earlier in the 20th century and certainly less well known than the human air travel pioneer, an ambitious mouse whose name may or may not be Lindbergh (although author/illustrator Kuhlmann was clearly inspired by this American hero), reached America from Germany in very much the same way.

While the curious little mouse was holed up somewhere for months on end reading “the great books written by humans,” a new mechanical contraption, the mousetrap, has caused our rodent’s friends to supposedly
flee to safety in a faraway land where a huge statue stood to greet all who journeyed there. We sadly know better than to think they escaped the fate of the traps’ strong springs. The human world, it seems, could also be dangerous. Eager to reach America from his home in Hamburg in order to reunite with all his mice friends, the mouse hatches a plan, part derring-do and part pure brilliance, that involves a lot of moving pieces and a lot more luck.

Kuhlmann’s imaginative picture book, with its evocative detailed illustrations of a bygone era when humans were inventing and experimenting, is told through the small, inquisitive eyes of a well-read mouse who will stop at nothing to travel to the “New World.”

His attempts to leave town via sea are thwarted by harbor cats guarding the ships. In the safety of sewer tunnels, however, the mouse draws inspiration from bats who “looked like mice, with tiny eyes and huge ears. But they flew with powerful black wings.”

Since it was the age of invention and innovation, the industrious mouse tries to recreate a winged device to help him fly, but his first attempt flops. His next effort, using steam power, brings him notoriety but that flying machine fails as well. Yet, despite his crash, the mouse still makes headlines, “Hamburg’s Flying Mouse Spotted.” Now the city’s owls are on alert becoming a new menace to avoid as he scavenges for materials to use in the building of his plane.

With the enemy close at hand, little Lindbergh spies the clock tower of a church to use as a runway for his maiden ocean voyage, but can he escape the clutches of the threatening owls long enough to get airborne and stay aloft for the duration of the arduous journey?

“Lindbergh is a story I wish I read when I was young,” says Kuhlmann. “Picture books at the time did not deliver a real adventurous thrill. So, I designed Lindbergh to evoke a sense of childlike adventure with a serious undertone. There is detail to discover in every picture and something for everyone on each page.”  I could not have said it any better myself. Please see for yourself by taking flight with Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse. With its informative back matter on top of its wondrous artwork and inspirational story, there’s not a better way to fuel your child’s imagination than with this stunning picture book from debut author/illustrator Kuhlmann.

– Reviewed by Ronna Mandel