‘Please remove the Mouse from the House’: the instructions could not be clearer, but mouse-catcher Mr Bosh and his assistant Mr Bumble make such a mess of it! Children will squeak with glee as My Bumble tries and fails to catch the mouse, each time more spectacularly than last. We know things won’t go well when he can’t avoid the mouse-traps he’s laid – the same traps the clever mouse has nimbly side-stepped – but everything really goes to pieces when Mr Bosh sends him out to bring back a cat … The scenes are increasingly outlandish and comical, perfectly represented in Russell Ayto’s bright, scratchy illustrations, and it all culminates in the biggest disaster you can contemplate. Stylish, irreverent, unruly fun for all!
A mouse-catching farce from Roald Dahl Funny Prize winning picture book creator Russell Ayto.
Mr and Mrs Homeowner have a mouse in their house, and they want it gone. Mr Bosh - big chief mouse-catcher, and Mr Bumble - assistant mouse-catcher (wearing shoes that squeak like a mouse) arrive on the scene. They try all the old tricks: setting a trap, bringing in a (big!) cat, inviting an elephant round... but the mouse is always one step ahead.
Russell Ayto is best known for his anarchic and stylish artwork. He graduated from Exeter College of Art with a degree in Graphic Design and has since been delighting children all over the world. He won the Gold Smarties Award in 2003 for The Witch's Children, and the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2008 for The Witch's Children Go to School. He has been shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal twice. Before illustrating children's books, he worked for various magazines including Time Out and the Sunday Observer. The Match is Russell's second book with Bloomsbury, following the brilliant Henry and the Yeti. Russell lives in Cornwall with his family.
