I was weeding books months and months ago and I found these two books that hadn’t been checked out in a really long time. The Song of Pentecost and its sequel Pentecost and the Chosen One are both by W. J. Corbett. If a book isn’t circulating, we try to find a redeeming quality. Perhaps it received a *starred review* once upon a time. Maybe it was an honoree, Newbery or Caudill. Maybe the story is much more attractive than its cover. Can we book talk it or sell it? Can we think of someone else who would enjoy it? Sometimes, we simply have to try it out for ourselves and that is what I did.
It was the word “Pentecost” that caught my eye. Pentecost looks and sounds important. In reality, it merely means “the fiftieth day” or “fifty-count”. In the books, Pentecost is not just a name, and certainly not a numbering system, it is the title of a mouse. The Pentecost Mouse is the leader of the harvest mice that live on Lickey Top Hill to be precise. The Pentecost Mouse of the first book led the family there. The Pentecost Mouse of the second book learned how to be a good leader and mediator on Lickey Top.
Upon reading the jacket summary, I was further intrigued. One of my favorite cartoon movies growing up was The Secret of NIMH which I later learned was based upon a Newbery Award winning book called Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien. Excellent book AND movie if you’re shopping. (Secret crush on Justin. Yes, I know. A rat. But knight in shining armor no less.) Song of the Pentecost sounded similar. Encroaching humans force harvest mice to move. A brave mouse leads them. Predators like owls and foxes help or hinder along the way.
So I took them home thinking to save a couple of books.
Right off the bat, I realized that these books were from a different time and a different speech pattern. They were hard to get into. For instance, when I watch a British flick, it takes me at least 15 minutes or so to find my "footing". Actually the same thing can be said for talking to a 2 or 3-year-old. They can be very hard to understand until your brain has cataloged all of their quirks, lisps, misinterpretations. Most books, I can read 50-100 pages a night depending upon how big they are, size of text, etc.. The Pentecost books were requiring me to handle only about 25 pages a night. My mind just couldn’t find the rhythm.
The characters are SO complex. I can’t even explain their many facets. Some say one thing and mean entirely the opposite. Some say exactly what they are doing and why like their secret thoughts spoken out loud. A character might take a moment to narrate to the reader. Another character might switch allegiances multiple times in a heartbeat. And then there is the rare seven-legged cockle snorkel. Need I continue?
The cockle snorkel is the brains of the bunch. He is owl’s best friend. He is a sometimes conscience to many. Think Jiminy Cricket only untrustworthy. He is a messenger to the masses. He is the proverbial fly on the wall. AND he’s a double agent. Maybe triple. Perhaps quadruple. Every house needs a cockle snorkel to keep us on our toes or egg us on, either one. I think he’s my favorite character. In the second book, he takes on Destiny! And nearly gets eaten by a spider! The characters alone make this a series worthy to keep.
I believe there is a religious allegory to be had here. If I gave it enough time and effort, I could define it and write papers about it.
Unfortunately, I think the books will probably remain on the shelf, uncirculated, until the next librarian must decide if they’re worthy of the space they take up … and if I wrote papers concerning them, they would be lost in academic oblivion.
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