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January 31, 2014
Another delightful, outstanding children’s book by the fantastic Richard Peck. If you read my reviews, and why wouldn’t you....they’re awesome....you’ll know that I recently read another of Mr. Peck’s mouse stories called “Secrets At Sea”. I LOVED that book. This one was really great, but “Secrets” is even better.
The main mouse character, whose tail curiously makes a question mark shape, is trying to find out his true identity. His place of residence - grand ol’ Buckingham Palace in London. Well, actually he lives with the rest of the mice under the palace. But still, it’s a pretty fabulous location for a mouse story! I won’t share a lot of story details because I don’t need to. All I’ll say is it’s a great book - read it with your kids - you’ll love it!
Specifically, what I find so enjoyable about Mr. Peck’s writing, is his exceptionally clever personification of the mice and other animals. The mice are all so proper in attitude, appearance and behavior. In dialogue, they speak like little gentleman and ladies, and the exchanges are wonderful. Additionally, Mr. Peck crafts these neat little phrases that make you want to be a part of the mouse world. Or at least to see in action a multitude of smart mice running a whole world under your house! Phrases like “Anytime a human leaves the room, we come out. There are more of us then you could ever know.” and “For every human job, there is an equivalent in the mouse world. And we do it better.” A perfect example of that in the book is there’s a mouse queen of England and she’s a remarkable old rodent. Speaking of royalty, our main character mouse also has a perfectly civilized conversation with the human Queen of England and their dialogue is superb!
I highly recommend this book AND “Secrets At Sea”. Both are great to read aloud and share with your little ones. They aren’t related with crossover characters or anything, but they are both extremely well-written in the same, unique style so they feel like part of series. In “Question Mark Tail”, there is a brief mention of a mouse wedding that seems to involve characters from “Secrets” but that’s the only possible connection I recall. Lovable characters, lots of action, excellent dialogue....these are beautiful books from cover to cover.
**Clean, safe, impeccably written, great for any youngsters and for moms and dads too!**
The main mouse character, whose tail curiously makes a question mark shape, is trying to find out his true identity. His place of residence - grand ol’ Buckingham Palace in London. Well, actually he lives with the rest of the mice under the palace. But still, it’s a pretty fabulous location for a mouse story! I won’t share a lot of story details because I don’t need to. All I’ll say is it’s a great book - read it with your kids - you’ll love it!
Specifically, what I find so enjoyable about Mr. Peck’s writing, is his exceptionally clever personification of the mice and other animals. The mice are all so proper in attitude, appearance and behavior. In dialogue, they speak like little gentleman and ladies, and the exchanges are wonderful. Additionally, Mr. Peck crafts these neat little phrases that make you want to be a part of the mouse world. Or at least to see in action a multitude of smart mice running a whole world under your house! Phrases like “Anytime a human leaves the room, we come out. There are more of us then you could ever know.” and “For every human job, there is an equivalent in the mouse world. And we do it better.” A perfect example of that in the book is there’s a mouse queen of England and she’s a remarkable old rodent. Speaking of royalty, our main character mouse also has a perfectly civilized conversation with the human Queen of England and their dialogue is superb!
I highly recommend this book AND “Secrets At Sea”. Both are great to read aloud and share with your little ones. They aren’t related with crossover characters or anything, but they are both extremely well-written in the same, unique style so they feel like part of series. In “Question Mark Tail”, there is a brief mention of a mouse wedding that seems to involve characters from “Secrets” but that’s the only possible connection I recall. Lovable characters, lots of action, excellent dialogue....these are beautiful books from cover to cover.
**Clean, safe, impeccably written, great for any youngsters and for moms and dads too!**