Richard Peck is one of my favorite children’s/YA authors, so it was a no-brainer for me to pick his newest book, The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail, off the new books display at the library and bring it home. I’m not sure what, if any, relationship this book is supposed to have to his mouse tale of 2011, Secrets at Sea (link to my review), but if you enjoyed it, you will most definitely enjoy The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail. It’s the story of an unlikely hero, a young mouse who’s given the moniker Mouse Minor at school because he has no given name. What’s more, he has no identity, other than the fact that he lives with his aunt, a royal seamstress, under the Royal Mews. This is the age of Queen Victoria, and for every human who keeps the palace running, there’s a mouse who does the same job. Our protagonist mouse has quite a string of adventures in this tale, from running away from school to having an audience with the queen herself, all in search of his own identity. Richard Peck‘s trademark sarcasm and humor shine in this story, and Mouse Minor’s voice is impeccable. I still prefer Peck‘s human tales to his animal ones, but this one is fun. Here are a few quotes that showcase what makes it so:
Our seats were alphabet blocks that had vanished from royal nurseries far above us. Our desks were foot-long rulers. We learned our letters by looking under each other, and we learned our numbers from the rulers. And of course mice are famous for our multiplication. (22)
He was very grand indeed, was Ian. Not handsome–far from it really. His profile wasn’t stirring, but he had that weak and peaky look about the face and under the chin that is the badge of the English upper classes. His whisker were even wispier than mine, but they drooped with a casual abandon. Very prominent teeth, the pair up front. Very prominent. How nice to be him, I thought–from the first moment we met in the changing room. (86)
If you like animal stories in the least, especially animal stories in which the animals are much more sharp-witted and adventurous than the humans, you’ll enjoy this one. (Dial, 2013)
