Miss Bianca in the Orient

The illustrations are what really make all of the Miss Bianca books. Yes, the writing is charming, and the characters are endearing, but without the illustrations (by Garth Williams), these books would only be so much children's literature. With the ink drawings, they're Children's Literature WITH REALLY CUTE PICTURES. (um, ok, let me try again...)These are children's books without, perhaps, deep plots, but they will certainly be remembered by children for the pictures and characters, and by the parents for the charming, unexpected turns of phrase. I read one of these books when I was a child, and one a few weeks ago. I must say I enjoyed them both times. If you or your child like mouse adventure stories, I urge you to give these a try. I'd say the reading level is ten or twelve. Younger children probably would like them read aloud.As the reviewer on the back of one of these books says, "the plot is pure marshmallow fluff... but the characters! Charming."(Something like that.)I believe this series was the inspiration for "The Rescuers" movie, but I think the books are much better.amr