The Song of Pentecost

I honestly think that this is the best childrens' book I have read. The characterisation is brilliant - every character invokes emotion of some kind in the reader - and you really believe in them all. Fundamentally I suppose it is a story of succeeding in the face of adversity, but it is far, far more than that. I couldn't recommend a book more highly, not just for children, but for adults too - it is absolutely wonderful.

This is the first of the Pentecost books (followed by Pentecost and the Chosen One and Pentecost of Lickey Top).After his father's death, Snake is bamboozled by his alleged Cousin who, backed up by a Frog, claims he whas fallen heir to Snake's dear home, the Oily Green Pool.Determined to have his pond back, Snake sets out in search of the lying batrachian. He ends up in a old farm, the home of a family of harvest mice, the leader of whom is Pentecost. The mouse agrees to help Snake find Frog if in return he finds them a new home, as the farm is going to be detroyed by the over-spilling City.The story goes on to describe their journey across the English countryside to the Oily Green Pool and the Lickey Hills, meeting numerous beasts on the way, either friend or foe, but often "playing both ends against the middle".The Song of Pentecost is a lovely animal fable, where in the end everyone learns from their mistakes or repents from their treacheries, but I must say I was a little bit disturbed by the religious, often moralizing metaphors. I was also deeply shocked by the end.

This is probably the most interesting book I read as a child. I left my copy out in the rain when I was young, and it's taken me several years to find another copy, but it was worth the search. It is an excellent book about the pilgrimage of a group of mice who are looking for a new homeland. Only as I got older did I realize that the story had been a religious metaphor about searching for the Promised Land. Really neat story - different from a lot of children's books. Not a spoiler - parents should just review the end before letting little children read this book.