Angus MacMouse Brings Down the House: Animal Tales    by Linda Phillips Teitel & Guy Francis Order:  USA  Can Bloomsbury, 2010 (2010) Hardcover, Paperback      Reviewed by Bob Walch Whoever heard of a little mouse conducting an orchestra or being an important member of an opera company? That may sound pretty farfetched but that is exactly what happened to me. I'm Angus MacMouse and this is the story of how I went from being a hungry little street mouse in Brooklyn, New York, to a headline making celebrity in London, England. This all begins with an accident. Since I like opera, one evening I crawled up onto the stage during a performance of Georges Bizet's Carmen. The featured soprano, Minnie McGraw, is terrified of rodents so when she saw me poor Minnie hit a note so high it shattered the chandelier in the opera house. That made Minnie an overnight sensation and now people expected her to do that in all her performances. Since I was the catalyst that enabled the diva to reach such unheard of heights, the head of the opera company decided to add me to his production staff. Soon we were off to London where my role in Minnie's success became known. But, unfortunately, that ignited some jealously and one day I was mousenapped by a disgruntled member of the opera company. Let me tell you, that was one very unpleasant and frightening experience, but I managed to escape Carlo Grimaldi's clutches - he's the villain in this story. I was able to save Minnie's career and the opera company too. When the poor singer couldn't hit the famous high note, no one wanted to attend her performances any more. If you are ready to read short novels (or have someone who will read them to you), I think you'll really love my adventure. Not only will you meet my friends but you'll also learn about a famous opera called Carmen. Oh yes, you'll also find out how I came to experience 'the most splendid four and a half minutes' in my entire life when I got to actually direct our opera orchestra. Boy, was that really cool! Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews