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Magnus Powermouse

1982 novel by Dick King-Smith

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Magnus Powermouse is a children's novel by Dick King-Smith, first published by Gollancz in 1982 with illustrations by Mary Rayner.

01Plot

Magnus Powermouse was a large mouse, who gains supermouse strength fattened on patent Porker Pills.

Magnus is not just big; he has a ravenous appetite. His parents struggle desperately to keep him fed. In a moment of sheer desperation, Madeleine remembers finding a box of pills, Pennyfeather's Patent Porker Pills, which are, in fact, used for fattening pigs.

Madeleine accidentally ate a small amount of the pills while pregnant, and now they decide to feed the rest of them to the hungry infant Magnus. The pills work too well. Magnus doesn't just grow larger; he grows and grows until he is an enormous, fearless, and incredibly strong mouse, a true Power Mouse.

The Problems of Power While his parents and their kind-hearted rabbit friend, Roland, are initially thrilled by Magnus's might, especially when he defeats a "Nasty Cat" that threatens the farmyard, his size and ferocity start to cause problems:

He is difficult to hide. A mouse that big can't stay a secret for long.

His strength attracts attention. His mighty mousa

the talk of the farmyard.

A new enemy emerges. The biggest threat comes from a cunning, sinister rat named Jim, who hears the legends of the enormous mouse and decides he wants to capture and tame Magnus for his own purposes, like running a rodent circus.

02Reception

The book received a positive review from Kirkus Reviews.

Watch videos about Magnus PowermouseExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Magnus Powermouse, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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