Earhart: The Incredible Flight of a Field Mouse Around the World by Torben Kuhlmann
Reviewed by Christina Barber
On the evening of May 20th, 1932, in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland1, facing strong winds and icy conditions, Amelia Earhart set out in her modified single-engine Lockheed 5B Vega for Paris, France, with the goal of becoming the first woman to complete a transatlantic flight. Not an easy flight by any stretch of the imagination, she endured challenging flight conditions and a broken altimeter, and after nearly fifteen hours, she landed in a farmer’s field near Derry, Northern Ireland.
After her successful solo transatlantic flight, Earhart completed numerous other solo flights, but her eyes were set on something larger: a trip that would see her become the first woman to circumnavigate the globe, and in 1937, she would attempt to do just that. Amelia Earhart was wholly driven in achieving her goals and was unshrinking in the face of criticism, but what motivated her to have such lofty dreams? Could she have been inspired by one particularly intrepid mouse? That’s the whimsical theory behind Torben Kuhlmann’s latest book, Earhart: The Incredible Flight of a Field Mouse Around the World.
“Where Kuhlmann succeeds in his Mouse Adventures is by opening a window into another realm for readers.”
Stunning, full-page illustrations invent a splendid world where anything can happen. Size is no matter if you are one of Kuhlmann’s mice; in fact, it can be a real advantage for those possessed with the inventor’s esprit and the drive to know everything they can about the world. In Earhart, an unusual stamp from Uganda, featuring the head of a lion, will inspire a little field mouse to find out more about her world. In her endeavour to learn, she dares to dream big; her goal is to fly to Africa and beyond, and to become the first mouse to circumnavigate the globe. And so, she embarks on an adventure to build her own plane with the help of a mentor mouse, none other than Lindbergh’s inspiration, himself.
The mouse’s obstacles in achieving her dream mirror the struggles faced by Amelia Earhart, whose naysayers were ever present. In Amelia’s case, she fought against misogyny to find not only her place as an aviatrix, but to help countless other women, including the Ninety-Nines, a group of licensed women pilots in the United States, to hold their place as well. In the mouse’s case, it is a question of defying her own society’s expectations; field mice are diggers, what business do they have flying? And just like Amelia, the little mouse resists the pressures to be like everyone else and perseveres to achieve her dream. The path, however, is a turbulent one, and circumnavigating the world will prove to be very challenging indeed.
For ten years, Torben Kuhlmann has delighted readers with stories of mouse daring do. His first picture book, Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse, was followed up by three more mouse adventures, Armstrong: The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon, Edison: The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure, Einstein: The Fantastic Journey of a Mouse Through Space and Time, and now Earhart: The Incredible Flight of a Field Mouse Around the World. It has been quite the journey for the very talented Kuhlmann, and his latest book hits the mark.
Where Kuhlmann succeeds in his Mouse Adventures is by opening a window into another realm for readers. In Einstein, there was an entire child-friendly appendix explaining relativity. In Earhart, Kuhlmann includes appendices featuring the exploits of Earhart and other early flight trailblazers. He also incorporates information about the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan.2 This added information tantalizes and serves as a conduit for further questioning that could lead to reading other books and researching a wide variety of topics.
Kuhlmann’s picture books are most accessible to an older audience, the publisher suggests 8–12 years of age. Organized in short chapters, his writing evokes connections and encourages deductive reasoning. With engaging illustrations, poignant stories, and enlightening appendices, Kuhlmann’s Mouse Adventures have the potential to become literary classics to be enjoyed for generations to come. Earhart is truly delightful, whether as a multiple-night, bedtime read-aloud, classroom-shared adventure, or solitary and valiant read buried under the covers.
About the Author
Torben Kuhlmann lives and works in Hamburg as a freelance children’s author and illustrator. He studied illustration and communications design at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. He wrote and illustrated his first picture book, Lindbergh: the Tale of a Flying Mouse, in 2012 as his final thesis, and it was published in 2014 by NordSüd Verlag. It quickly became a bestseller and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Three more mouse adventures followed and were equally successful. In 2024, the tenth anniversary was celebrated by the publication of Earhart, the fifth book in the series. However, a few mouse-free books have also crept into the repertoire during the last ten years, including Moletown, The Clown Said No, and The Gray City.
David Henry Wilson, born in London, is a playwright, novelist, children’s book author, and translator. His plays have been produced in many well-known theatres in Great Britain as well as abroad, and his children’s books—especially the Jeremy James series—have been translated into many languages. His novel The Coachman Rat received critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. For many years he lectured at the universities of Bristol (England) and Konstanz (Germany), where he founded the university theatre. His translations from French and German cover many subjects, ranging from literary theory, art, travel, and general culture to children’s novels and picture books.
About the Reviewer
Christina Barber is a writer, dramaturge, artist, and educator based in Vancouver. Her poetry has appeared in The Whimsical Poet and contributed to the Vancouver City Poems Project.
Book Details
Publisher : NorthSouth Books
Publication date : May 13 2025
Language : English
Print length : 128 pages
ISBN-10 : 0735845794
ISBN-13 : 978-0735845794
Item weight : 816 g
Reading age : 8 - 12 years
Grade level : 1 - 5
Until recently, you could find a statue of Amelia Earhart at Harbour Grace, commemorating her transatlantic flight. But, the statue was stolen in April of this year. In a turn of good fortune, the CBC reported on August 11th, that the statue had been located near Heart’s Content, in pieces. Earhart’s statue has since been returned to the community, where she will hopefully be restored to her former glory.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/amelia-earhart-statue-found-harbour-grace-1.7605727
(This reviewer suggests the novel, I Was Amelia Earhart, by Jane Mendelsohn, for adult readers captivated by the enigma.)