Professor Branestawm's Mouse War

by Norman Hunter

The traps the Professor makes are all so attractive to mice that rodents come from all over the neighborhood to make their homes in them

Genres: Childrens

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Career
Hunter wrote popular books on writing for advertising, brain-teasers and conjuring among many others. His career started as an advertising copywriter and in the 1930s he was performing as a stage magician in Bournemouth.
It was at this time he started to write the Professor Branestawm series, originally intended for radio. The books were published in hardback, with the first illustrated by W. Heath Robinson. Other illustrators were to follow, including James Arnold, George Worsley Adamson, Gerald Rose, David Hughes, Jill McDonald and Derek Cousins. In the 1960s the books were reprinted in Puffin Books, the Penguin children's imprint.
Hunter returned to London during the Second World War, living on a boat on the Thames. Post-war, in 1949 he went to work in South Africa and the fiction writing ceased. On his retirement in 1970, he once again returned to London, where Thames Television had just produced the Professor Branestawm eight-part TV series. He continued writing in his retirement, with his last book published in 1983.
Works (Incomplete)
Simplified Conjuring for All: a collection of new tricks needing no special skill or apparatus for their performance with suitable patter, C. Arthur Pearson (1923)
Advertising Through the Press: a guide to press publicity, Sir I. Pitman & Sons (1925)
New and Easy Magic : a further series of novel magical experiments needing no special skill or apparatus for their performance with suitable patter, C. Arthur Pearson (1925)
The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm, John Lane (1933)
New conjuring Without Skill, Bodley Head (1935)
Professor Branestawm's Treasure Hunt, John Lane (1937)
Larky Legends (1938), republished as The Dribblesome Teapots and Other Incredible Stories (1973)
Successful Conjuring for Amateurs, Pearson (c.1951)
The Puffin Book of Magic (1968), republished as Norman Hunter’s Book of Magic, Bodley Head (1974)
The Peculiar Triumph of Professor Branestawm, Bodley Head (1970)
The Dribblesome Teapots and Other Incredible Stories (1971)
Professor Branestawm Up the Pole, Bodley Head (1972)
Professor Branestawm's Dictionary, Bodley Head (1973)
The Frantic Phantom and Other Incredible Stories (1973)
Professor Branestawm's Great Revolution, Bodley Head (1974)
The Home-made Dragon and Other Incredible Stories (1974)
Dust up at the Royal Disco: and Other Stories (1975)
Professor Branestawm’s Do-It-Yourself Handbook, Bodley Head (1974)
Long Live Their Majesties (1975)
Professor Branestawm Round the Bend, Bodley Head (1977)
Professor Branestawm’s Compendium of Donundrums, Riddles, Puzzles, Brain Twiddlers and Dotty Descriptions, Bodley Head (1975)
Vanishing Ladies, and Other Magic, Bodley Head (1978)
Professor Branestawm's Perilous Pudding, Bodley Head (1979)
The Best of Branestawm, Bodley Head (1980)
Sneeze and Be Slain and Other Incredible Stories (1980)
Professor Branestawm and the Wild Letters, Bodley Head (1981)
Professor Branestawm's Pocket Motor Car, Bodley Head (1981)
Professor Branestawm's Mouse War, Bodley Head (1982)
Professor Branestawm's Building Bust-Up, Bodley Head (1982)
Count Bakwerdz on the Carpet and Other Incredible Stories (1982)
Professor Branestawm's Crunchy Crockery, Bodley Head (1983)
Professor Branestawm's Hair-Raising Idea, Bodley Head (1983)

Wikipedia

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

The youngest of my little collection of Professor Branestawm books, aimed at very young children, it lacks, of course, the intricacy of story and illustration which the early series of Branestawm short stories overflowed with abundance and delight. It is going to be a thankless task trying to live up to the classic The Incredible Adventures Of Professor Branestawm [1933], with its superb Heath Robinson illustrations, or even Professor Branestawm's Treasure Hunt [1937], with George Adamson's less sophisticated if more worldly drawings. And nothing, barring a time machine invented by the Professor, can equal the delight of discovering him when young. But perhaps this is the starter that might ignite a lifelong love of the Professor and his mates, Colonel Dedshott and Commander Hardaport, as well as Mrs. Flittersnoop.

[Gabriella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is good for children who are just starting chapter books as the story still included illustrations were appropriate. The book consists of 2 stories, both stories are very humorous and stimulate children's imagination. I would recommend this book to children as it was a simple plot and engaging. I would have liked more short stories in the book instead of just two, however I understand that there are more books in the series.