The Mouse and the Motorcycle

The Ralph S. Mouse middle-grade adventure series by beloved American children’s author Beverly Cleary includes The Mouse and the Motorcycle (1965), Runaway Ralph (1970), and Ralph S. Mouse (1982). The series features the adventures of a talking mouse, Ralph, who lives in an old hotel, rides on a visiting boy’s toy motorcycle, and gets himself into big trouble. The books have a Lexile rating of 860L, suitable for middle-grade readers.

Louis Darling, an American illustrator and writer, worked with Cleary on a dozen novels, and he illustrated the original 1965 publication of The Mouse and the Motorcycle. The novel won the William Allen White Children’s Book Award and was adapted into a 1986 animated motion picture. During her long career, Cleary won a Newbery Medal, two Newbery Honors, and numerous other awards. The School Library Journal names three of Cleary’s novels, including The Mouse and the Motorcycle, as one of the 100 best books for children. Prior to penning the adventures of Ralph S. Mouse, Cleary received acclaim for her Henry Huggins series, first published in 1950, and her Ramona series, which debuted in 1955 with Beezus and Ramona.

This study guide cites the 2016 HarperCollins Publishers ebook.