Margery Sharp’s The Rescuers, her classic tale of pluck, luck, and derring-do, is now available from The New York Review Children’s Collection. Having been out of print for over ten years, we are pleased to bring it back to life in an edition with illustrations by the great Garth Williams.
The Rescuers follows the beautiful white mouse, Miss Bianca, on her very first mission. Full of thrills and humor, Sharp’s book is graced by the pen-and-ink drawings of Garth Williams, the renowned children’s book illustrator of such classics as Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, and Little House on the Prairie.
Owned by an ambassador’s son, Miss Bianca spends most of her days in a porcelain pagoda, dining on cream cheese and writing poetry. When the mouse Prisoners’ Aid Society recruits her to help with a perilous rescue mission, she must leave her elegant lifestyle behind. Miss Bianca, her partner Bernard, and the brave Nils, set out for Norway where a human poet has been imprisoned in the dungeons of the fabled Black Castle. On their journey, the trio encounters rowdy field mice, harrowing fortresses, and a particularly nasty prison cat. More importantly, each of the heroic mice learns the value of bravery, self-confidence, and the warmth of friendship.
Poignant, witty, and thrilling, Sharp’s story is a masterpiece of children’s literature and, as one critic notes, is sure to charm all “wise children from age 10 to 100.” The Rescuers is the perfect summer adventure book for the entire family.
