Three by the Sea

Mini Grey's pictures are always a delight, and this tale has an added interest in the twist at the end.

Dog, Cat and Mouse are old friends, each with their own established, and rather limited routine. But they are perfectly happy until a stranger (a stereotypically sinister fox) arrives and begins to suggest to each that the others are boring and lazy, resulting in a dreadful row between the friends.

However when Mouse decides to run away, his friends rescue him, realise that friendship is worth more than change, but nevertheless become slightly more adventurous in their homemaking!

So is the stranger a troublemaker or a catalyst? Grey’s text and images are filled with subtle subtextual challenges about true friendship.