Product Description

"Boy!" said Ralph to himself, his whiskers quivering with excitement. "Boy, oh boy!" Feeling that this was an important moment in his life, he took hold of the handgrips. They felt good and solid beneath his paws. Yes, this motorcycle was a good machine all right.

Ralph the mouse ventures out from behind the piney knothole in the wall of his hotel-room home, scrambles up the telephone wire to the end table, and climbs aboard the toy motorcycle left there by a young guest. His thrill ride does not last long. The ringing telephone startles Ralph, and he and the motorcycle take a terrible fall - right to the bottom of a metal wastebasket. Luckily, Keith, the owner of the motorcycle, returns to find his toy. Keith rescues Ralph and teaches him how to ride the bike. Thus begins a great friendship and many awesome adventures. Once a mouse can ride a motorcyle ... almost anything can happen!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21921 in Books
• Published on: 1990-09-01
• Released on: 1990-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Amazon.com Review
"Pb-pb-b-b-b. Pb-pb-b-b-b." With these magic vocables, Ralph the mouse revs up a dream come true--his very own motorcycle. Living in a knothole in a hotel room, young Ralph has seen plenty of families come and go, some more generous with their crumbs than others. But when young Keith and his parents check in to the hotel, Ralph gets his first chance to check out. He has always fantasized about venturing beyond the second floor, maybe even outside. Curiosity overcomes caution, and Ralph must have a go at Keith's toy motorcycle. Soon, the headstrong mouse finds himself in a pickle, when all he wanted was to ride a motorcycle. Lucky for him, the boy understands how it is. When he discovers Ralph in his thwarted attempt to abscond with the toy bike, Keith generously encourages the rodent to ride. He even teaches him the simple trick of starting the motorcycle: "You have to make a noise... pb-pb-b-b-b." The subsequent situations Ralph motors into require quick thinking and grownup-sized courage. The team of Beverly Cleary and Louis Darling has been a great favorite for decades, introducing young chapter readers to Ramona, Beezus, Henry, and of course Ralph the mouse. (Ages 8 and older) --Emilie Coulter

From AudioFile
Jaunty opening music sets the tone for the adventures of Ralph the mouse as he discovers the magical toy motorcycle belonging to a young guest at the hotel where Ralph lives. When Ralph takes a terrible fall--into the wastebasket--the boy, Keith, must rescue him. While it's easy for a boy to help a mouse, later Ralph must brave the dangers of "the outside" and the dreaded "ground floor" in order to help his new friend. B.D. Wong narrates at a pace that allows listeners to appreciate how truly funny Cleary's story is. The old inn is peopled with a several guests and a housekeeping staff, each of whom expresses a particular attitude toward mice in a unique voice. Especially distinctive are the voices of Ralph's extended family, who certainly must have had ancestors in the Catskills of New York. R.H.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
"Cleary again successfully combines fantasy and reality."  --Booklist
"Cleary can't miss with this one!" --Publishers Weekly -- Review

Customer Reviews

Great Children's Story
My three grandchildren ages 9, 5, 3 all love this story by Beverly Cleary. They have listened to it several times in a row and still want to listen again!

THE book to get my sometimes reluctant reader interested
My son is 7 and an advanced reader, but he doesn't pick up a book for fun--until we checked this one out of the library. Now he is interested in all Beverly Cleary books. This classic from my childhood (the first Cleary book I ever read too) still holds up. The interactions between Ralph and Keith are realistic and sweet, Ralph's adventures on the motorcycle are thrilling, and the world inside the hotel is vivid. While my son still prefers my reading this to him, he has wanted to read a chapter here and there. This is a wonderful, charming introduction to Cleary and a good start as a first chapter book.

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary, read by B.D. Wong
After purchasing The Mouse and the Motorcycle for a long road trip with my 7-year-old granddaughter, I can't say enough about the story or about the reader, B.D. Wong. While there is at least one other audio version available, Wong is absolutely superb in his rendering of the characters and noises. We rode absolutely enchanted by Cleary's story and Wong's interpretation of it. Although the long road trip is over, my granddaughter still requests that I play The Mouse and the Motorcycle when she rides with me. This will be a favorite of your children and grandchildren. In fact, when I'm invited to book showers for babies, this is one of the gifts I present. It will become an all-time favorite, I guarantee it!