Line #20 Literature/Anatole


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anatole.jpg]]
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3	->''"Vive Anatole!"''
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5	Anatole is the title character of a series of children's books written by American author Eve Titus (who also created ''Literature/BasilOfBakerStreet'', the inspiration for Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'') and illustrated by Paul Galdone. He is a hardworking little French mouse who on the outskirts of Paris in a village of fellow mice and works in the city at a cheese factory, tasting their cheeses and evaluating them. But because he's a mouse, he must work in secret to avoid being spotted by the humans, who are unaware that their mysterious cheese connoisseur is in fact a rodent. Nonetheless, Anatole is respected by his fellow mice and lauded by humans for his refined tastes. When not working however, he spends time with his wife Doucette and his six children, Paul, Paulette, Claude, Claudette, Georges, and Georgette, as well as his best friend Gaston.
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7	The first ''Anatole'' book was originally published in 1956, and was followed by 9 additional books between 1957 and 1979. The series consists of:
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9	* ''Anatole'' (1956)
10	* ''Anatole and the Cat'' (1957)
11	* ''Anatole and the Robot'' (1960)
12	* ''Anatole over Paris'' (1961)
13	* ''Anatole and the Poodle'' (1965)
14	* ''Anatole and the Piano'' (1966)
15	* ''Anatole and the Thirty Thieves'' (1969)
16	* ''Anatole and the Toyshop'' (1970)
17	* ''Anatole in Italy'' (1973)
18	* ''Anatole and the Pied Piper'' (1979)
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20	''Anatole'' has been a highly successful series, with the first and the second books winning Caldecott Awards the year after they were published. Additionally, Anatole and his adventures have been adapted into other mediums. Most famously, the Canadian animation studio Creator/{{Nelvana}} produced a 26-episode AnimatedAdaptation that originally aired on Creator/{{YTV}} in Canada in 1998, and later on Creator/{{CBS}}' SaturdayMorningCartoon block that same year. There was also a musical stage show in 2014 that adapted the first two books into a single performance, which was met with great commercial and critical success.
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23	!!Tropes found in both the books and the cartoon:
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25	* CatsAreMean: The second book and the animated series feature a large black cat who tries to eat Anatole and Gaston while they are in the cheese factory.
26	* FatBestFriend: Gaston is of the Big and Brash variety. He is much heftier than Anatole, but as every as proud of his French heritage as Anatole is. However, he does occasionally also serve as comic relief.
27	* GayParee: The books and the series are set in such a version of Paris.
28	* HappilyMarried: Anatole has a happy, healthy marriage with his wife Doucette, who is very supportive of her husband in all his endeavors.
29	* TheMasquerade: Anatole has to keep his identity secret to the humans while working as a cheese taster, since people wouldn't react very well if they knew about the presence of mice in the cheese factory.
30	* MassivelyNumberedSiblings: Anatole and Doucette have six children who form three pairs of twins!
31	* MauriceChevalierAccent: Anatole, Gaston, and Doucette speak in downplayed, less outrageous versions of the stereotypical French accent.
32	* MouseWorld: Anatole lives in a tiny mouse village identical to a typical small French town, located right outside of Paris.
33	* NiceMice: Anatole and his family, as well as Gaston, are a proud and kind-natured ensemble of mice who form a loving and tight-knit family.
34	* NobleShoplifter: ''Anatole and the Cat'' sees Anatole, in his plans to bell the cat that the owner of the cheese factory has brought in to keep mice away (unaware that one of his best employees ''is'' a mouse), sneak into a couple of shops during the night and take an item from the shelves, leaving a piece of cheese in payment.
35	* StockAnimalDiet: Cheese. Not only does Anatole work as a cheese taster, but he takes great pride in his country's cheeses.
36	* TwinThemeNaming: Three brother-sister pairs named Paul and Paulette, Claude and Claudette, and finally Georges and Georgette

Context Literature / Anatole