The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail
By Mary Eisenhart,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Swashbuckling adventure of mouse in Queen Victoria's court.
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What you will—and won't—find in this book.
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What's the Story?
A young orphan mouse growing up on the fringes of Queen Victoria's court has a number of challenges, from his tiny stature to the fact that ever since he was a baby, no one will tell him what his name is, or if he even has one. As both human and rodent members of the royal household prepare for the Diamond Jubilee, THE MOUSE WITH THE QUESTION MARK TAIL decides that only the monarch herself can tell him his name and his destiny.
Is It Any Good?
The team of Richard Peck and Kelly Murphy tends to be a pretty good recipe for light, appealing stories with something to engage kids of different ages, and their parents. The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail is no exception, following its nameless but intrepid hero's fast-moving adventures with sly humor, sweetness, and never a dull moment. While Secrets at Sea appealed more to girls, Mouse reaches out to boys with plenty of pint-sized swashbuckling, from the Queen's carriage horse to the Yeomice of the Guard. Not to mention numerous references to poop and other disgusting substances.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can discuss the illustrations in The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail. How do you like them? Do you think pictures are important in telling a story?
Why do you think stories about mice have been so popular over the years? What other mouse stories have you read, and how do they compare with this one?
What do you think of the idea that for every human who's doing a job, there's a mouse doing the job better? What do you think life would be like for the mouse doing your job?
Book Details
- Author: Richard Peck
- Illustrator: Kelly Murphy
- Genre: Adventure
- Topics: Adventures, Cats, Dogs, and Mice, Friendship, History
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Dial Books
- Publication date: July 2, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 18
- Number of pages: 224
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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