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This last month I’ve been on the look out for books with a wintry but non-christmas theme and the search has brought a few lovely, previously unknown books into our household thanks to the library reservation system. One in particular which has caught M and J’s attention is The Sea Mice and the Stars by Kenneth Steven, illustrated Louise Ho.

Photo: Navicore

A family of mice who live on an old ship (which reminds me of the gorgeous Maggie B) have a special job every winter: when there is a shower of shooting stars it is their job to go on land, gather up the stars and distribute them to other mice, to light their homes and keep them safe.

One year they venture out to gather up the “pieces of magic” but a terrible storm brews up and whilst gathering the sparkling treasures one of the sea-mice children gets lost in the snow. Fortunately the light of the stars helps her family to find the young mouse and they are able to complete their mission; the land mice throw a great party to celebrate the distribution of the glowing stars and the sea-mice are able to return to their ship, happy and content after their adventure.

Re-reading my precis of the story I think it sounds a little strange, but actually the story is charming – just the right amount of adventure, fantasy and suspense married with sweet little mice-characters (with oldy-worldy names like Ashenteen and Filidore) and the enduring charm of sparkling stars. Indeed, I think the illustrations are what really capture the attention of my kids – the stars are all shiny and sparkly, and their lustre shows up particularly well against the purples and blues which dominate the pages of this book.

At the said mice party…

There were spicy hot drinks that made Ashenteen’s nose tingle, and singing and dancing that never seemed to end. “This is the most exciting night ever!” Ashenteen whispered to Willabee as they nibbled on special star-shaped biscuits, still warm from the oven”

And so, to recreate this celebration M, J and I made our own star-shaped biscuits and hot spicy drinks:

Hot Moroccan “Ginseng” (from Sophie Grigson’s Sunshine Food)

Serves 2
30g (1 oz) caster or granulated sugar
1 mace blade
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
4 cardamom pods
2.5 cm (1 inch) piece of fresh root ginger, sliced
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 allspice berries
300 ml (10 fl oz) water
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Put