I think Graham Oakley is wonderful. This is my favorite of the Church Mice books. It is just hilarious! The illustration is remarkable, often commenting on the text in a laugh out loud way. I'm so sad that these are not still easily available. Graham Oakley died recently, such a great loss to the world. I'm searching out and reading again all that I can find. ( )

The third entry in Graham Oakley's series of picture-books about the adventures and misadventures of a group of English church mice and their cat companion, The Church Mice and the Moon sees Arthur and Humphrey kidnapped by two rather nefarious scientists bent on sending them to the moon. It falls to Sampson the cat to sabotage the astronautical mission and rescue them, a task he accomplishes most inadvertently, while seeking a warm place to nap...

Like The Church Mouse and The Church Cat Abroad, this offered an engaging story paired with charming illustrations. The "science" behind the mission to the moon is nonexistent, but then, Oakley is clearly writing a fantasy. The humor is quite pointed here, particularly when the two scientists see an angel in their transmission from "space," and while I enjoyed their very evident discomfort and denial, I had to wonder if the author was setting up some kind of false "science vs. faith" dichotomy. The artwork is as detailed as in the previous two titles, although many of the human figures have a distinctly seventies appearance. All in all, despite my enjoyment, The Church Mice and the Moon felt a little dated to me. ( )