The Umbrella Mouse
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 10+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
Pip is brave, loyal and willing to risk her life for friends and for prisoners she has never met. The book teaches real WWII history and refuses to paint every German as evil. The honest reservations are the darkness for its age, with orphaning, torture and a camp scene, and a handful of curse words that readers say the story did not need.
For parents
Read aloud from 8, independent reading from 10. Books for Keeps says 8 to 10, but readers call it dark, so lean older for a sensitive child. Skip or swap the few curse words if reading aloud. Ask why Pip keeps going after losing everything. Ask what it costs to lay down your life for a friend (John 15:13).