I have a special fondness for "woodland creature" stories: "Goodnight Moon" (with its bunny protagonist), "Rufus the Bat," the "Frances Badger" series, the birds (and other inventions) of Leo Lionni, the mice tales of Kevin Henkes, the squirrel-centered "Good Day," the close-knit family in "Fantastic Mr. Fox," the Rosemary Wells raccoons. These animals are slightly exotic to children--but they are still "within reach." They are animals that kids can see (and think about) on a daily, or almost daily, basis. Also, a mouse seems so humble, so easily overlooked; there is something beautifully counterintuitive about "centering" the (fictional) concerns of a mouse. This brings me to "Anatole." Eve Titus, the writer, scored a hit with "Basil of Baker Street," which yielded the "Great Mouse Detective" (possibly the best of all Disney animated films). In "Anatole," Titus has...