Time and the Clock Mice, Etcetera

When the town clock stops, a colony of telepathic mice comes to the rescue  Unthinkable! The Branton Town Hall Clock has stopped! The intricately carved turret clock had attracted tourists from all over the world. Every day six small bells would chime at precisely fourteen minutes and twenty seconds past the hour. And out would come a procession of prancing lambs followed by a shepherd playing Pan-pipes and, finally, old Father Time himself.   The impressive clock tower is also home to a group of Clock Mice, extraordinary rodents who are twice as bright as rats and just as smart as humans. They speak their own complex language of mind-pictures and elude Juno, the clock tower cat. When the clockmaker’s grandson fails to repair the town’s beloved clock, will the Clock Mice be able to save Time?   Filled with unforgettable characters, including the Hickory, Dickory, and Dock mouse families and some eccentric humans, Time and the Clock Mice, Etcetera is a whimsical tale of mice, magic, cats, clocks, science, people, and the nature of time.   This book features full-color illustrations by Emma Chichester-Clark.

“An essential part of the narrative, Chichester-Clark’s exuberant, playful illustrations mirror the tale’s whimsy without a trace of coyness.” —Publishers Weekly   “For readers sophisticated enough to know that sometimes “etcetera” is the most important part.” —Library Journal   “Dickinson delivers an amusing tale of wonder, wit, and wisdom. With its cozy British tone and quirky style, the book is an appropriate choice for Roald Dahl readers who are begging for something else along similar lines.” —Booklist   “Unique, charming, and thoughtful, too—this could become a classic.” —Kirkus Reviews

Peter Dickinson was born in Africa but raised and educated in England. From 1952 to 1969 he was on the editorial staff of Punch, and since then earned his living writing fiction of various kinds for children and adults. His books have been published in several languages throughout the world.   The author of twenty-one crime and mystery novels for adults, Dickinson was the first to win the Gold Dagger Award of the Crime Writers’ Association for two books running: The Glass-Sided Ants Nest (1968) and The Old English Peepshow (1969). Dickinson was shortlisted nine times for the prestigious Carnegie Medal for children’s literature and was the first author to win it twice.   Dickinson served as chairman of the Society of Authors and was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2009 for services to literature. Peter Dickinson died on December 16, 2015, at the age of eighty-eight.