I received an electronic ARC from NorthSouth Books Inc. through NetGalley.
This is the fourth book in the series but readers can enjoy it as a stand alone. Readers meet the field mouse as she is working on a variety of inventions. Another mouse, Humphrey, brings her more supplies and she focuses on a postage stamp of a lion. Her need to explore and know more than her current location is strong and she sets out on a journey to find where these big cats are from. She finds another mouse who has flown and learns from him. She follows his plane design and reaches for her dreams. As she flies around the world, she sends the flying mouse letters to update him on her travels. Though not in the way she hoped, she does succeed in flying around the entire world and returning to the area. The book ends with her sharing about a young girl who dreams of flying as well. I appreciate the brief biography of Amelia Earhart included at the end.
Do take time to study the illustrations. The pictures tell so much of the story beyond the text and are well worth the time to look at and discuss.
This should inspire readers to think about their own dreams and look for ways to achieve them.

A sweet little story about a mouse that wants to fly planes, perfect for fans of The Tale of Despereaux and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. The illustrations are stunning and the format adds so much to the story, making this a bit of a cross between novel, picture book, and graphic novel.

What if the tale of Amelia Earhart was mirrored by a field mouse? The results would be inspiring and adorable. In this tale, a tinkering field mouse dreams of flying. She adventures to find a teacher and comes across a raccoon who will trade knowledge at a very high price and a pilot mouse. Once she gets the designs she needs, she tinkers some more. Of course, she has some obstacles to her plan to fly around the world, but she overcomes them with wit and bravery. Whereas her namesake was lost to the unknown, this heroine mouse has a different fate. If you want an inspiring story of breaking barriers, this is it! It has historical data included at the end. I absolutely adored the illustrations!

Voles live in a burrow deep under the vegetable patch. While the others are working and digging, there is a vole sitting in its workshop, absorbed in sketching. There, the vole invents tools for working underground.

The building material is brought by Humphrey, an ordinary mouse. Humphrey collects the material from the people. Among them is material from the post office and on a stamp the vole discovers a large cat from Africa. From now on, it's clear that's where he wants to go. But the underground burrowing machines won't get him there.

Fortunately, the vole finds a mouse pilot who helps him build a flying machine!

But not everyone is convinced by the flying enthusiasm.

Torsten Kuhlmann has created an impressive picture book. 128 pages thick and with illustrations full of detail and fascinatingly lifelike perspectives.
Kuhlmann's style and color scheme (muted colors reminiscent of old photographs and vignettes) are clearly based on the era of Amalia Earhart.
A pioneer of flight and women's rights activist in the 1930s. Contrary to all prevailing expectations and norms. (Just like a vole doesn't belong in the air, does it?)

The afterword explains the references in the story of the courageous vole to Amalia Earhart's life.

I've loved Kuhlmann's previous books, but I think this is my favorite. Of course it requires a great deal of suspension of disbelief, but that's part of the fun.

This is a well-done example of an illustrated book where both text and pictures are essential to telling the story. It's NOT a graphic novel; it is the kind of book I can see using to draw in older reluctant readers, as well as a great bridge book from graphic novels to chapter books/novels. This would make a great multi-age, family read aloud with history to appeal to older kids and adults while the country mouse herself will hold the interest of younger listeners who won't pick up on the historical details. Of course Kuhlmann's illustrations are lush and detailed. Recommended for all ages.

Humphrey the mouse is friends with a creative, inventive field mouse. For a surprise, Humphrey brings her a postage stamp with a lion on it.
After some research they find out that lions are supposedly from Africa and determine to find a way to prove them true or fantasy. Field mouse meets the world famous flying mouse and becomes determined to build a plane and fly around the world.

The book is full of beautiful artwork and information about a few places around the world and a well-known pilot, Amelia Earhart!

I plan to sneak it into an ELA lesson or two with my 6th graders. I have recommended it to some of my co-teachers who work with younger students, because they study North Carolina history, which includes the first flight of the Wright Brothers and will fit well with a lesson or two about Earhart.

I have read a couple titles by this author and hope to read the rest. This is book 5 of the standalone series.
1. Lindenberg 2. Armstrong 3. Edison 4. Einstein

I was given the opportunity to read this title by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Such a unique way to learn history! A brave little field mouse wants to fly and she meets up with someone who can help make her dream come true. The pictures were warm and gorgeous and the details were wonderful. I loved how the adventures of the little mouse met up with Amelia Earhart in the end. Two brave aviators!
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

Another great edition in this series! I love how detailed the illustrations are and how many facts are in the stories.