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     The Oswald Chronicles by J.D. Calderon is a collection of tales chronicling the adventures of a Manhattan resident – not your every day Manhattan resident, but an extraordinary mouse whose intelligence rivals that of Stuart Little. The tales in this book are geared toward an older audience than the fans of Stuart Little; that much is for certain. One needs only to read the first page of The Park Avenue Mall War to understand that. The verbiage is designed for a much older crowd – the fact that the actual word ‘verbiage’ is used is a dead giveaway.

     The Park Avenue Mall War tells the tale of how Oswald attempts to prevent a full-scale war between two of his neighbors. Diane, the garden fairy, tends a beautiful flower garden in the Park Avenue Mall. Ordith is a troll who wanders the Park Avenue Mall, forever in search of food. Mind you, the usual staple of trolls is meat, preferably freshly killed prey. However, since meeting Oswald, Ordith has sworn an oath never to eat meat again. One day, an enraged Diane approaches Oswald with a horrific discovery she made while touring her garden. Someone has been eating her carefully tended flowers. This bit of news is disturbing to Oswald, most especially since he believes he knows who the culprit might be – Ordith. Once Diane discovers that Ordith is responsible for the condition of her flower garden, war is declared, with Oswald stuck in the middle trying desperately to get the two sides to come to a compromise of sorts.

     I truly enjoyed this story. I’m not always enthused by fantasy tales that feature talking animals, but I found myself highly amused with the antics of such an intelligent mouse as Oswald. I laughed out loud at the scene in which Oswald drinks nectar from a 7-Up cap. The inside of the cap is a curiosity to the mouse – it reads: “grand prize winner you have just won $10,000 dollars”. Ever wonder where the winning prize caps on soda bottles actually end up? Now you know! Even funnier is the interaction between the mouse and his friends. I found myself absorbed in the tale of how the self-proclaimed “scribe and gentlemouse” saved the day. The only part that saddened me was reaching the end of the tale. I wanted more! I can’t wait to read the further adventures of Oswald and his friends!

     Send your comments and or questions about this article to Wildkarrde3@hotmail.com.

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