Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos

Ben and Me (1939), by American writer and illustrator Robert Lawson, is a work of historical fiction intended for children. It is narrated by a mouse named Amos, who befriends and advises Benjamin Franklin during the American Revolutionary era. Lawson is a celebrated author of children’s literature, and he won a Caldecott Award for his illustrations in They Were Strong and Good and a Newbery Medal for his novel Rabbit Hill. The text highlights Ben Franklin’s human flaws rather than his role as a national icon, as well as the benefits of collaboration in producing scientific innovations and enacting social change.

In 1953, the Walt Disney Studios released an animated short based on the book.

This guide refers to the Little, Brown and Company’s first revised paperback edition (2010).

Plot Summary

Robert Lawson’s foreword explains that the text penned by Amos, the mouse, was found under a stone in an old Philadelphia home, tucked away inside a tiny desk in a tiny room. He claims it was authenticated by the Brownsonian Institute (a fake organization) and the National Museum of Natural History (a real one) as being from the colonial era and written by a mouse, respectively. Lawson recognizes that this narrative presents a different perspective than most Franklin biographies, but he believes it to be trustworthy because it was written by one so close to the man.

Amos writes his account after the death of his friend Ben, hoping to correct other erroneous accounts of the statesman’s life. He wants credit given where it is due: to him. He is the oldest of 26 siblings, born to church mice. When he leaves home one particularly cold winter, he wanders into Ben’s house and finds Ben hunched near a weak fire, attempting to write. He sneaks into Ben’s fur cap and goes to sleep. The next morning, Amos implores Ben to add more wood to the fire, though Ben hates “waste.” Amos explains that avoiding illness and doctors’ bills is not a waste and tells Ben how his own family warms themselves around a roasted chestnut. This idea inspires Ben to build the Franklin Stove. Amos permits Ben to take credit for this invention, and they sign an agreement whereby Amos will remain with Ben and advise him, and, in return, Ben will see that food is regularly delivered to Amos’s family. Amos rides in Ben’s cap, watching the world from a small hole and whispering advice into Ben’s ear at regular intervals.

Amos detests Ben’s insistence on swimming because it leaves Amos vulnerable to animals. One day, Amos hides in a tree, and a dog steals Ben’s cap while he swims. Thinking Amos is still in the cap, Ben chases the dog. When some men find his clothes, they conclude that Ben drowned. They alert the town, and many important people come to the river and find Ben clad only in his swim trunks and fur cap, attempting to look dignified.

Ben loves his printing press, and he promises to take an adage regarding cats and mice from his next issue of Poor Richard’s Almanack. He forgets, however, so Amos does it for him, making several other edits too. Amos’s changes to Ben’s tidal predictions result in several captains running their ships aground, and they confront Ben with the errors in his publication. Ben examines a copy, realizing what Amos did, and convinces the men that they have a counterfeit. Amos hides for two days.

Ben is fascinated by electricity and conducts experiments that frighten Amos. He plans a public exhibition of what he’s discovered. That day, while Ben gets his hair done, Amos rewires his machine, believing Ben made some errors. Amos leaves his leftover copper plates and wires on a chair, the chair in which the governor will later sit. During the exhibition, the governor’s buttocks are electrocuted, and his wife and fire chief are shocked as well. Amos feels the day was a failure, but Ben believes it was a success.

Ben affixes conductor rods to his home because he wants to investigate lightning. One blast throws Amos into a glass jar, which protects him, and Ben hides underneath his bedclothes, prompting Amos’s mockery. Amos realizes that lightning is electrical, as Ben believes, but he never shares this insight. Ben and Amos often go kite flying, Ben holding the string while Amos rides aloft. Ben fashions a little car that Amos uses to ascend or descend the string. When a storm develops, Amos finds that Ben removed this vehicle before the storm, forcing Amos to stay in the sky. It is a harrowing ordeal, and Amos is so angry he refuses to share his observations and returns to his family home.

Two days later, Ben arrives, complaining that Amos broke their agreement, but Amos will not return to Ben’s home unless he promises to stop his experiments. Ben agrees, telling Amos he’s been asked to go to England to broker peace with the king, and he asks Amos to accompany him. Amos agrees, but when he sees the lightning rods Ben installed on the boat, he abandons ship. Ben is unsuccessful, and the Revolutionary War breaks out. Ben and Thomas Jefferson are asked to write the Declaration of Independence, but it is another mouse, Red, who comes up with the language. Ben steals it, and the committee presents the wording as its own. Congress ratifies it, and the United States declares its freedom from England.

As the war drags on, General George Washington’s army needs funds, so he sends Ben to France for aid. Ben is extremely popular in France, and he successfully borrows money from the crown. Amos spies on other diplomats and helps Ben thwart any plots against him. Amos meets a beautiful mouse called Sophia, whose husband was unjustly exiled to America and whose children are imprisoned in the palace. Amos vows to reunite the family.

The colonies win the revolution, but Ben wants to stay in France. The king plans a ball for him, and his vanity becomes obnoxious. Amos develops a plan to rescue Sophia’s children and rejoices when Red arrives with Jefferson. Red pledges his support and recruits more fighters from Paris. Before the ball, Amos hides several dozen mice in Ben’s clothing, and they attack the palace guards when Ben enters the hall. They liberate Sophia’s kids, though Ben is no longer welcome at court, so he and Amos go home. Ben receives a hero’s welcome, and Sophia is reunited with her husband in Philadelphia.

Amos plans a party for Ben’s 81st birthday. He buys Ben a new hat, an indication that he no longer wishes to counsel him. He feels that at 81, Ben can get around by himself.