Humphrey Hits the Jackpot
I discovered these books in 1977 when I was in college. For some reason they made me laugh. Now I have a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature, I have written interpretations of countless books in many languages, and I still can't put my finger on why Graham Oakley's Church Mice books make me laugh out loud, or why I can spend an hour at a time looking closely at the picture details and laughing more, or why I am so frustrated that my collection of them is missing three books, all of which are rare and expensive. I guess if you are not easily amused or have a desire only to read sophisticated literature, it may not appeal to you. The story lines themselves are not that spectacular, but the subtle humor in both the text and the art is everywhere--humor being the art of the unexpected. I am very fond of cats, have an English and Anglican heritage, and like children's books, so I'm sure those things draw me to the books, but I swear there is something more to these books. You'll just have to see for yourself.
