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The Schoolmouse
A wonderful animal adventure from master storyteller, Dick King-Smith.
Flora was born on the first day of term in the new school year, which might be why she's a very special mouse indeed - a mouse who has taught herself to read!
Flora lives in a classroom, and is determined to learn all sorts of things that no mouse has ever learned before. Her family is horrified at first, but then Flora's reading saves their lives ...
152 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1994
15 people are currently reading
414 people want to read
About the author
Dick King-Smith
329 books308 followersDick King-Smith was born and raised in Gloucestershire, England, surrounded by pet animals. After twenty years as a farmer, he turned to teaching and then to writing children's books.
Dick writes mostly about animals: farmyard fantasy, as he likes to call it, often about pigs, his special favorites. He enjoys writing for children, meeting the children who read his books, and knowing that they get enjoyment from what he does.
Among his well-loved books is Babe, The Gallant Pig, which was recently made into a major motion picture, and was nominated for an Academy Award.
Dick lived with his wife in a small 17th-century cottage, about three miles from the house where he was born.
Dick writes mostly about animals: farmyard fantasy, as he likes to call it, often about pigs, his special favorites. He enjoys writing for children, meeting the children who read his books, and knowing that they get enjoyment from what he does.
Among his well-loved books is Babe, The Gallant Pig, which was recently made into a major motion picture, and was nominated for an Academy Award.
Dick lived with his wife in a small 17th-century cottage, about three miles from the house where he was born.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
October 28, 2019
I've sung King-Smith's praises in other reviews, but this time I marked a couple of passages so I could give you specific examples:
"Whether in fact Flora was more intelligent than her nine brothers and sisters we shall never know.... Whether she inherited this thirst for knowledge from her matter-of-fact mother or somewhat scatterbrained father we shall, again, never know...."
"A happy ending was not in store for Flora's brothers and sisters. Unlike her, they were excitable and rather thoughtless mousekins, and for them, life was to be short and death brutal."
"Whether in fact Flora was more intelligent than her nine brothers and sisters we shall never know.... Whether she inherited this thirst for knowledge from her matter-of-fact mother or somewhat scatterbrained father we shall, again, never know...."
"A happy ending was not in store for Flora's brothers and sisters. Unlike her, they were excitable and rather thoughtless mousekins, and for them, life was to be short and death brutal."
January 18, 2017
Dick King-Smith will probably always be best known for his story of Babe the pig. Around our house, his most beloved story is "Fat Lawrence," the tale of a cat who games the neighborhood food system and then learns that who he really is and who his lady love wants him to be are the same thing. It's a great story.
Anyway, I didn't know what to read to the kids at bedtime, so I grabbed this one off the shelf. My youngest son had read it a couple of times, but I wasn't familiar with it. Like all of King-Smith's stories, it has good verbal wit and clever use of animal characters. Unlike the other stories of his that I've read, it also includes an amazing amount of death. Almost no characters in this book survive to the end!
While the story is okay, it's not especially gripping. I did like the part where the mice figure out how to dispose of their droppings so that the humans don't know there are mice in the schoolhouse. But other elements of the book--the weakness of male mice, the way in which mice are basically like humans except that they don't get married (I guess?)--are not impressive. It's a quick read, but not one of my favorites.
Anyway, I didn't know what to read to the kids at bedtime, so I grabbed this one off the shelf. My youngest son had read it a couple of times, but I wasn't familiar with it. Like all of King-Smith's stories, it has good verbal wit and clever use of animal characters. Unlike the other stories of his that I've read, it also includes an amazing amount of death. Almost no characters in this book survive to the end!
While the story is okay, it's not especially gripping. I did like the part where the mice figure out how to dispose of their droppings so that the humans don't know there are mice in the schoolhouse. But other elements of the book--the weakness of male mice, the way in which mice are basically like humans except that they don't get married (I guess?)--are not impressive. It's a quick read, but not one of my favorites.
June 20, 2022
A beautifully told story about a little mouse and her family. This is an easy read for adults and children from one of the best story tellers. Unlike a lot of things written in a time of convulsed prose and fluffy stories of unnecessary words, this is a breathe of fresh air. The illustrations in this are also very charming.
March 22, 2023
A mouse learns to read by peeping through a mouse hole during children’s lessons in a school house. This kid’s book is clever, funny and morbid. Scores of mice die through poison and weasel attacks. The book was written by an English author and is not new if that explains anything.
January 14, 2025
I remember reading this as a kid, but I didn't remember how bleak it is. I won't lie, I kind of miss realistic and blunt children's books
June 21, 2019
The only other book that I've read by K-S is the one about guinea pigs. (No, I haven't read Babe.)
Generally, I don't like tales of animals who behave like humans, but I wanted to read another title by K-S so picked it up anyway. These mice are sophisticated in thought and behaviors, and as we learn, they can be taught to read, count, and understand English. At least they seem to live like mice and they don't wear clothing.
Death and danger are fairly strong themes. No traps, but there are predators and a pest control "operative." Early in the book Flora's family is nearly wiped out by poison as are the other mice in the school.
Some of the vocabulary may send a serious student to the dictionary, but most readers will skip the 'tough' words. e.g.: operative, heredity, female, inherited, scatter-brained, interposed, destined, suckled, hyacinth ... (For names, mother mouse uses flowers for inspiration.)
I even learned a new phrase -- it was used twice in the book. I made note when it was used a second time:
p 69: By the end of the night [the weasel] had put paid to three more of them.
"put paid"?
Generally, I don't like tales of animals who behave like humans, but I wanted to read another title by K-S so picked it up anyway. These mice are sophisticated in thought and behaviors, and as we learn, they can be taught to read, count, and understand English. At least they seem to live like mice and they don't wear clothing.
Death and danger are fairly strong themes. No traps, but there are predators and a pest control "operative." Early in the book Flora's family is nearly wiped out by poison as are the other mice in the school.
Some of the vocabulary may send a serious student to the dictionary, but most readers will skip the 'tough' words. e.g.: operative, heredity, female, inherited, scatter-brained, interposed, destined, suckled, hyacinth ... (For names, mother mouse uses flowers for inspiration.)
I even learned a new phrase -- it was used twice in the book. I made note when it was used a second time:
p 69: By the end of the night [the weasel] had put paid to three more of them.
"put paid"?
May 27, 2024
Kadang aku rasa buku anak-anak yang menceritakan tragedi secara apa adanya lebih baik daripada yang ditutup-tutupi atau yang diperhalus. Lebih cepat kita tahu apa yang jelek, yang nyata di depan kita, lebih baik dan lebih siap kita menghadapinya. Yah, walau mungkin ada kasus-kasus khusus yang berbeda. Karena itu aku bilang "kadang". Dengan manusia, semuanya serba nggak pasti~ (¯ . ¯٥)
Untungnya, buku ini membahas tikus🐭 Ada juga manusia yang tampil, tapi fokusnya tikus! Tepatnya tikus-tikus yang menghuni sebuah sekolah. Buku-buku Pak King-Smith rasanya sering menampilkan topik "berani tampil beda" atau "gantungkan cita-citamu setinggi langit". Karena di sini ada Flora, si tikus sekolah, yang memanfaatkan tempat tinggalnya sebagai sarana untuk menimba ilmu 🐀📚
Hidup sebagai tikus padahal nggak mudah. Ada aja tragedi yang terjadi. Tapi itu semua tak menyurutkan niat belajar si tikus ✨️🐭
Untungnya, buku ini membahas tikus🐭 Ada juga manusia yang tampil, tapi fokusnya tikus! Tepatnya tikus-tikus yang menghuni sebuah sekolah. Buku-buku Pak King-Smith rasanya sering menampilkan topik "berani tampil beda" atau "gantungkan cita-citamu setinggi langit". Karena di sini ada Flora, si tikus sekolah, yang memanfaatkan tempat tinggalnya sebagai sarana untuk menimba ilmu 🐀📚
Hidup sebagai tikus padahal nggak mudah. Ada aja tragedi yang terjadi. Tapi itu semua tak menyurutkan niat belajar si tikus ✨️🐭
February 23, 2013
This is a really great kids book, because it is adorable, but the actual events are quite serious. The main character, Flora; SPOILER ALERT
Gets rejected by her family
Witnesses a mass mice massacre (try saying that 5 times fast)
Loses all her siblings
Has a father with a missing tail and an injured ear, acquired through fights with other mice and an encounter with an owl
And her second set of siblings (tongue twister 2) gets devoured by a ferret.
But seriously, it is a cute little book despite these events.
Gets rejected by her family
Witnesses a mass mice massacre (try saying that 5 times fast)
Loses all her siblings
Has a father with a missing tail and an injured ear, acquired through fights with other mice and an encounter with an owl
And her second set of siblings (tongue twister 2) gets devoured by a ferret.
But seriously, it is a cute little book despite these events.
Read
June 4, 2013i was enjoying reading this to my 7 year old son. he's a reluctant reader but a great listener. the story is nice enough but why is there a romance angle to it? a bit disappointing to have the boy mouse meets girl mouse thread in the narrative. even if the male characters are somewhat goofy, it seems to perpetuate the idea the female characters MUST have some sort of romantic interest. there are descriptions of how handsome her beau is and how clever Flora is but, even though that whole thread flew over my son's head, i found it unnecessary and a bit cliched.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 3, 2024
***Lots of death and feministic ideals - possibly not best for younger audiences***
The School Mouse has been sitting on my shelf and while on my kick to get books read and out of the house it seemed like it would help to make for a quick read. Furthermore with the author also being a bit of a well-known author I was hoping that this book would also end up being just as well written as that other work.
Well if anything I must say this book takes the cake for being up there with the rest of the tragic classics of my childhood. The book starts off pretty strong but then goes down a dark rabbit hole in which death is willingly partnered with and although I do understand that mice make up for a great basis of the food chain the author doesn't leave that out in thoughts to his young readers although fortunately not much detail is given in the deaths.
Furthermore the mice are really on a weird par for the females are all domineering, take-charge and willing to throw a fit or bully to get their way. It is they who call the shots and even in the case where Ragged Robin accompanies his family it isn't as a defender but since he is being forced to, which is then of course then thrown back into his wife's face later on. The two main males (as all other ones end up dying) are all much weaker than the female counterparts both in physical format and also in temperament while demeaning themselves, mostly by their possible lack of brains.
But the book goes even weirder towards the end when another female chooses she needs a boyfriend as well so she ends up taking a trip to fetch one of the barn mice while it is implied quite heavily that she is robbing the cradle with how little he is plus his complete lack of knowing what happens when boy mice and girl mice get together.
Otherwise overlooking those three major issues that should be red flags to caregivers of young readers, the story was rather decent and does emphasize the importance of educating yourself even if you are the first. It is a tale of also helping others with your skills even if they think you are weird and helping older generations who may not have had the same opportunities to reach the same advantages as you if you can.
The book does have some illustrations but all done in grayscale while unlike the cover art in which the mice are most realistic the inside mice are a bit more cartoonish.
All in all the book can be a decent read even with its questionable content otherwise....
The School Mouse has been sitting on my shelf and while on my kick to get books read and out of the house it seemed like it would help to make for a quick read. Furthermore with the author also being a bit of a well-known author I was hoping that this book would also end up being just as well written as that other work.
Well if anything I must say this book takes the cake for being up there with the rest of the tragic classics of my childhood. The book starts off pretty strong but then goes down a dark rabbit hole in which death is willingly partnered with and although I do understand that mice make up for a great basis of the food chain the author doesn't leave that out in thoughts to his young readers although fortunately not much detail is given in the deaths.
Furthermore the mice are really on a weird par for the females are all domineering, take-charge and willing to throw a fit or bully to get their way. It is they who call the shots and even in the case where Ragged Robin accompanies his family it isn't as a defender but since he is being forced to, which is then of course then thrown back into his wife's face later on. The two main males (as all other ones end up dying) are all much weaker than the female counterparts both in physical format and also in temperament while demeaning themselves, mostly by their possible lack of brains.
But the book goes even weirder towards the end when another female chooses she needs a boyfriend as well so she ends up taking a trip to fetch one of the barn mice while it is implied quite heavily that she is robbing the cradle with how little he is plus his complete lack of knowing what happens when boy mice and girl mice get together.
Otherwise overlooking those three major issues that should be red flags to caregivers of young readers, the story was rather decent and does emphasize the importance of educating yourself even if you are the first. It is a tale of also helping others with your skills even if they think you are weird and helping older generations who may not have had the same opportunities to reach the same advantages as you if you can.
The book does have some illustrations but all done in grayscale while unlike the cover art in which the mice are most realistic the inside mice are a bit more cartoonish.
All in all the book can be a decent read even with its questionable content otherwise....
January 14, 2020
The school mouse is about a mouse who has grown up in a school. At first, her mom births her and her 11 other siblings in a kindergarten classroom. The mouse that wants to learn how to do school things is called Flora. Flora wants to become the first teacher mouse ever. Flora first starts out learning how to read in the kindergarten classroom. But then she learns the entire reading book and she feels like she is ready for a harder class. So, she goes to the first grade classroom and keeps moving up grades. The book ends with Flora teaching her family how to read. They are all successful at reading a sentence. And they also learned to understand what they where reading. I would recommend this book to kids older that 7 because it is a funny and inspiring book.
January 26, 2018
Flora is not just your average mouse. She is a school mouse. Born to a family of 12, Flora is the only one to took learning to heart.
Living in the Kindergarten room, she became interested in what the children did when they were there. After a bit, she discovered they were learning. This excited her and she decided that she would learn too.
The rest of her family weren't interested in learning reading, but Flora was dedicated. Her learning later paid off in saving her family.
I have read a few of Dick King-Smith's book and enjoyed them all. Yes, they are for kids and a quick read, but they do offer more than a cute story. There is always a take away lesson in each book.
Living in the Kindergarten room, she became interested in what the children did when they were there. After a bit, she discovered they were learning. This excited her and she decided that she would learn too.
The rest of her family weren't interested in learning reading, but Flora was dedicated. Her learning later paid off in saving her family.
I have read a few of Dick King-Smith's book and enjoyed them all. Yes, they are for kids and a quick read, but they do offer more than a cute story. There is always a take away lesson in each book.
November 17, 2019
Flora is a mouse who lives in a school. She decides to teach herself how to read.
January 27, 2021
This is the second Dick King-Smith that I have read-aloud and one thing about his writing that sticks out to me is that he provides a cleverly woven tale with solid lessons and…a good dose of reality. In The School Mouse, the reality came in the form of two mice massacre’s, one via poisoning and the other via weasel. If your kiddo can handle that, it is a wonderful book that teaches the value of learning to read! My 6-year old is a kid who enjoys nature documentaries so is used to the life and death challenges wild animals face, and he absolutely loved it… it received the ”just one more chapter” stamp of approval.
December 12, 2021
mom read aloud to J in 3rd grade - cute store about a family of school mice. One named, Flora, decides to start learning. She teaches herself the alphabet, how to read and about numbers (using the books and materials in the classrooms in the school where she lives). Her parents (Hyacinth and Ragged Robin) are part of the story. And she meets a boy mice who is all white with red eyes, and he becomes her husband. It's a cute book.
January 17, 2022
I have always enjoyed Dick King-Smith's books. They are just as appealing to me as a 70 year old grandmother as they were to my daughters when they were growing up. Flora is a mouse who lives in a school building and discovers the wonderful joy of reading. The other mice think it is a foolish idea but Flora is able to prove that reading is a valuable skill when she reads the word Poison on a bag of "treats"
March 30, 2018
Yet another in the list of "things I read because my stepdaughter left them lying around the house."
The School Mouse has the standard King-Smith blend of sweetness and slight weirdness (even if the body count is pretty high, given all the poisons and owls and weasels and so on that stalk the mice). I don't think it rises to the level of his best work, but it's certainly pleasant enough.
The School Mouse has the standard King-Smith blend of sweetness and slight weirdness (even if the body count is pretty high, given all the poisons and owls and weasels and so on that stalk the mice). I don't think it rises to the level of his best work, but it's certainly pleasant enough.
April 28, 2018
A family of mice live in an old school. One of them, Flora, doesn't just want to live there she wants to learn. Learning to read saves some of her family's lives because she reads the label on a container that has poison in it, to kill mice.
May 5, 2025
Flora inspires and encourages people of all ages to become educated. Her ability to read helps save her parents and youngest sister. She becomes the new school teacher for her family and children expected to arrive in the fall before the new school year.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2025
Growing up this was my favourite book. I was completely enchanted by flora and her thirst for knowledge. I remember hiding it in my desk at school and pulling it out so I could read it when the teacher wasn't looking.
September 12, 2017
Great book! A little boring for my 2nd grader, but my 3rd grader and I are eager to look for more by this author!
March 16, 2019
AWESOME! I RECCOMEND
December 12, 2021
read aloud to J (3rd grade) - cute story about a mouse named Flora who teaches herself the alphabet, how to read and how to count.
November 1, 2022
A quick, entertaining read. I didn't like the amount of death in this, nor how nonchalantly it was addressed. Also, the characters are kinda mean to each other for no reason sometimes.
December 3, 2023
This was my favorite book EVER when I was younger. Flora was so cool because she learned how to read and was able to save the other mice.
February 13, 2024
My class loved this book... They begged for a sequel!
June 18, 2024
Super cute kids book. Quick read. Really sweet and nostalgic to read an old book on my shelves from one of the my favorite schoolteachers ever. I’ll read this to my kid one day.
June 13, 2025
I was forced to read this book by my kid who has pet rats. The story tells the importance of education and having curiosity.
June 7, 2021
Read ATY 2021: building in title
Lovely story and showing the imagination that made him one of my favorite authors as a child. Some of the men stereotyping is problematic now but the idea of a mouse learning to read is lovely and sense of what its like to be a little animal is amazing.
Lovely story and showing the imagination that made him one of my favorite authors as a child. Some of the men stereotyping is problematic now but the idea of a mouse learning to read is lovely and sense of what its like to be a little animal is amazing.
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