Was Stuart Little a mouse or a tiny mouse-like person?

[Alex Franke]

I haven't read it in years and honestly I can only barely remember it, but this weekend I started re-reading it with my son, and I can't figure out if he's actually a mouse or just a tiny person who looks like and has "the pleasant, shy manner of a mouse."

Any insight? Surely this is one of the most pressing and important questions of the year...

[LCHIEN]

he's a mouse.

[just started]

As I recall from seeing an ad on tv for the movie a few years ago, he is a mouse.

[Alex Franke]

Well, he certainly looks like a mouse... but I'm not sure it's that clear (unless I missed that part).

It seems to me that if he were actually a mouse, then you wouldn't spend so
much time comparing him to a mouse -- "When [the Little's] second son arrived . . . he was not much bigger than a mouse," "the baby looked very much like a mouse," etc. You'd just say he was a mouse.

And his mother was clearly planning for something different because "the infant clothes she had provided were unsuitable," and at a month old, he had gained so little weight that his mother (Mrs. Little) sent him to the doctor. And his big brother (George) is human. Did she give birth to a mouse?

And if the Little's "adopt" their talking pets, then why isn't Snowbell (Mrs. Little's cat) a sibling, too?

It seems a bit like the kind of thing I'd dream when I'm sick or stressed out...

[Alex Franke]

As I recall from seeing an ad on tv for the movie a few years ago, he is a mouse.

It's the original book I'm talking about here... I didn't even know there was a movie -- I bet the book is better, though The movie versions always seem so different...

[cbrown]

As I recall, there were Garth Williams illustrations with the original book that depicted Stuart rather clearly as a mouse. One of the disappointments I have had in getting books from my own childhood for my children is that the copyright for illustrations seems to travel separately from the copyright on the text, so that it is often impossible to get the same pairing of pictures and text that I remember, apart from snagging a used copy.

See http://www.artnet.com/artist/707022/garth-williams.html

Chris

[crokett]

I always thought he was a mouse. I've often wondered how a human gave birth to a mouse though.

[atgcpaul]

I always thought he was a mouse. I've often wondered how a human gave birth to a mouse though.

That's probably something Mr. Little is wondering himself...

[Alex Franke]

That's probably something Mr. Little is wondering himself...

I heard that the story came to E.B. White (author) in a dream -- do you think he subconsciously feared that his wife was being unfaithful? Seems like the kind of dream I have when I'm either sick or stressed out. lol

[just started]

Sorry, I didn't know it was a book too. I only know the ads for the movie.

[Pappy]

I only knew it as a movie, also. The wife collects mice and, with her birthday and Christmas coming up, it is getting harder to find unique additions to her collection. Need to get on the hunt for a copy of the book. Thanks for the idea.