The Cheshire Cheese Cat / Carmen Agra Deedy & Randall Wright / 228 pages

This is a "Dickens of a Tale" that is perfect for reading aloud or handing to a 4-7 grader who likes really good books. Skilley is an alley cat with a secret. He takes up residence in the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub supposedly as a mouser. However, one of the mice, Pip, discovers Skilley's secret and the two become a team. Pip has a few secrets of his own which play an important role in the plot. There are many references to the works of Charles Dickens as he and other British authors visit the pub to partake of the best cheese in all of London. Even Queen Victoria has a cameo role as she visits Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese in search of her missing raven (Maldwyn) who is missing from the Tower of London. Besides being a great story that offers plenty of action and is heavily dosed with humor and intriguing characters, The Cheshire Cheese Cat has some very important lessons for those who are growing up and discovering who they are and what is important. The bountiful illustrations of Barry Moser add even more to this totally awesome book. Highly recommended.