The mouse with the question mark tail : a novel

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Title:

The mouse with the question mark tail : a novel

Author:

Peck, Richard, 1934-2018, author.

Murphy, Kelly, 1977- illustrator.

Series:

Secrets at sea ;

Series Number:

Summary:

A very small mouse of unknown origins runs away from school in the Royal Mews of Buckingham Palace shortly before the celebration of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee, celebrating her sixty years on the British throne.

Physical Description:

233 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.

Genre:

Action and adventure fiction.

Personal Subject:

Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, 1819-1901-Juvenile fiction.

Corporate Subject:

Buckingham Palace (London, England) -- Juvenile fiction.

Subject Term:

Mice -- Juvenile fiction.

Identity (Philosophical concept) -- Juvenile fiction.

Social classes -- Juvenile fiction.

Queens -- Juvenile fiction.

Geographic Term:

Great Britain -- History -- Victoria, 1837-1901 -- Juvenile fiction.

Author(s):

Murphy, Kelly, 1977-

Publisher:

Dial Books for Young Readers,

Publication Date:

2013

ISBN:

9780803738386

Publication Information:

New York, NY : Dial Books for Young Readers, 2013.

Call Number:

J PECK

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607002782004	Juvenile Fiction	PECK	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

Newbery Award-winning author Richard Peck is at his very best in this fast-paced mystery adventure. Fans of The Tale of Desperaux, A Little Princess, and Stuart Little will all be captivated by this memorable story of a lovable orphan mouse on an amazing quest.

The smallest mouse in London's Royal Mews is such a little mystery that he hasn't even a name. And who were his parents? His Aunt Marigold, Head Needlemouse, sews him a uniform and sends him off to be educated at the Royal Mews Mouse Academy. There he's called "Mouse Minor" (though it's not quite a name), and he doesn't make a success of school. Soon he's running for his life, looking high and low through the grand precincts of Buckingham Palace to find out who he is and who he might become.

Queen Victoria ought to be able to help him, if she can communicate with mice. She is all-seeing, after all, and her powers are unexplainable. But from her, Mouse Minor learns only that you do not get all your answers from the first asking. And so his voyage of self-discovery takes him onward, to strange and wonderful places.

Author Notes

Richard Peck was born in Decatur, Illinois on April 5, 1934. He received a bachelor's degree in English literature from DePauw University in 1956. After graduation, he served two years in the U.S. Army in Germany, where he worked as a chaplain's assistant writing sermons and completing paperwork. He received a master's degree in English from Southern Illinois University in 1959. He taught high school English in Illinois and New York City.

He stopped teaching in 1971 to write a novel. His first book, Don't Look and It Won't Hurt, was published in 1972 and was adapted as the 1992 film Gas Food Lodging. He wrote more than 40 books for both adults and young adults including Amanda/Miranda, Those Summer Girls I Never Met, The River Between Us, A Long Way from Chicago, A Season of Gifts, The Teacher's Funeral, Fair Weather, Here Lies the Librarian, On the Wings of Heroes, and The Best Man. A Year down Yonder won the Newbery Medal in 2001 and Are You in the House Alone? won an Edgar Award. The Ghost Belonged to Me was adapted into the film Child of Glass. He received the MAE Award in 1990 and the National Humanities Medal in 2002. He died following a long battle with cancer on May 23, 2018 at the age of 84.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-6-Peck, a Newbery Award-winning author, spins a fanciful tale (Dial, 2013) about Mouse Minor, or Nameless, a lonely critter who doesn't know his own parentage and embarks on a quest to discover the answers. He attends the Royal Mews Mouse Academy during the height of Victorian England. The mouse society in which he lives mirrors the life of British royals. Unfortunately, because he has no real name, no known past, and is the smallest mouse in London, Mouse Minor is bullied and teased daily. As Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee approaches, Mouse believes the greatest queen in history could be all-knowing. Determined to seek out her wisdom, he sets off on a grand adventure to Buckingham Palace, only to find himself in a number of dangerous predicaments along the way. Russ Bain performs this tale in his silky British accent, adding a lovely touch of authenticity. He provides a nice variety of voices, including a gruff, Scottish Yeomouse to Transylvanian bats who roll their r's and mix their v's and w's. This delightful audiobook will appeal to fans of Mary Norton's "The Borrowers" series and The Tale of Despereaux (Candlewick, 2003) by Kate DiCamillo.-Jennifer Mann, Cromaine District Library, MI (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

As endearing as Peck's Secrets at Sea, this companion novel, also set during the Victorian era and accompanied by Murphy's carefully detailed pencil illustrations, introduces a new cast of memorable mice born and bred in London. At center stage is narrator Mouse Minor, an undersize orphan with a question mark-shaped tail, who is uncertain of his heritage. Raised in the Royal Mews next to Buckingham Palace by skilled needlemice, Mouse Minor attends a prestigious school but is tormented by his classmates. When Mouse Minor learns that two bullies "meant to pound me into a jelly," he flees beyond familiar territory and ends up in the palace, where the staff is frantically preparing for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. All the while, Mouse Minor is unaware that spies are tracking his every move. The small hero's brushes with danger and run-ins with royalty (both human and rodent) unfold with Peck's characteristic wit and flair for adventure. Readers will gleefully suspend disbelief as they trace Mouse Minor's exciting journey, which draws him to a life-altering revelation and surprise reunions with friends and foes. Ages 8-12. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.