Orris and Timble: The Beginning
From beloved storyteller Kate DiCamillo comes the first book in a warm and funny early-reader trilogy about a misanthropic rat and a naive owl—and the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Orris the rat lives alone in an old barn surrounded by his treasures, until the day his solitude is disrupted by a sudden flutter of wings and a loud screech. A small owl has gotten caught in a trap in the barn. Can Orris “make the good and noble choice” (as the king on his prized sardine can might recommend) and rescue the owl, despite the fact that owls and rats are natural enemies? And if he does, will he be ready for the consequences? With humor and tenderness, two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo brings us this first of three tales celebrating unlikely friendship and the power of sharing stories and doing the right thing—a soon-to-be classic brought to expressive life by the full-color illustrations of Carmen Mok.
Creators
Kate DiCamillo is one of America’s most beloved storytellers. She is a former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and a two-time Newbery Medalist. Born in Philadelphia, she grew up in Florida and now lives in Minneapolis.
Carmen Mok is an award-winning illustrator of several acclaimed picture books with experience in product design, hand-lettering, and graphic design. She studied studio art at the University of Waterloo and craft design at Sheridan College, both in Ontario. Carmen Mok lives in Toronto, Canada.
Reviews
Though DiCamillo only hints at the feelings of loneliness, terror, relief, and joy concealed beneath Orris’s crotchety exterior, readers will see these emotions clearly enough in the sparely written narrative. Mok does the same with her nocturnal views. . . . A simple tale about looking beneath surfaces that’s as sweet as butterscotch candy.
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Orris is a solitary barn rat, and by all rights Timble, who’s an owl, should be his enemy. Ms. DiCamillo draws explicit parallels with Aesop’s fable of the lion and the mouse when the rat finds the owl snagged by a spring-loaded trap.In a touch that is not Aesopian (but is entirely DiCamillo-ish), Orris is emboldened to risk freeing Timble because he has taken to heart a sardine-tin slogan: ‘Make the good and noble choice!’ Orris makes the good and noble choice, as surely he must in this calm and earnest telling. Though he’s not the only rat in children’s literature to find utility in advertising—Templeton got there first in ‘Charlotte’s Web’—he does so with such charm and sensitivity that Orris speedily wins the reader’s affection.
The Wall Street Journal
DiCamillo sets the stage for an unlikely friendship and a new early chapter-book series grounded in kindness and a love of storytelling. Her short chapters are wonderfully illustrated by Mok, whose gouache, colored pencil, and graphite artwork lend endearing details and warmth to the story. Young readers will look forward to seeing what adventures are in store for this darling duo. . . . Twice a Newbery medalist, DiCamillo knows how to tap into readers’ hearts, no matter their age.
Booklist
The spirits of Frog and Toad are alive and well in this moving and funny first volume in an early reader trilogy by DiCamillo (Ferris), which chronicles the unlikely blossoming friendship between a cynical rat and a curious, naive owl. . . . DiCamillo expertly wraps humor, kindness, the courage that purpose ignites, and a love of story into a concise, welcoming package. Quiet watercolor-and-pencil scenes by Mok (Cone Dog) are rendered in shadowy nighttime grays, blacks, and browns that crisply contrast Timble’s bright plumage.
Publishers Weekly
As the story is a clear variation on Aesop’s “The Lion and the Mouse,” the moral option may seem obvious, but DiCamillo’s artful use of spare and telling detail along with Mok’s attention to visual perspective in her atmospheric art give weight to the rat’s decision. . . . This is a tender, carefully drawn opening to a promising character-driven series.
The Horn Book
