The Mouse With The Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck

Source of book: Audiobook borrowed from the library.

Last year, we listened to another book by Peck, Secrets at Sea. Like that book, this one is a book about mice, set in the year of Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee. The former book was published in 2011, while this one followed immediately in 2013. Apparently Mr. Peck, now age 80, is enjoying writing whimsical rodent fiction after a long career writing more serious and contemporary books.

As I have mentioned previously, my second daughter is all about the mice, so these books have been chosen as a result of her love for rodents.

In my opinion, the previous book was almost as if Henry James had been a mouse and had written the counterpart to his human novels. This book, while it has obvious connections to the other, does not share any characters, and has a wholly British character (although Peck is quite American). Whereas the other book dwells extensively on the cultural differences between the Americans and the British, this book focuses more on the English class system.

The titular mouse has grown up in the mews (stables) at Buckingham palace, adopted by a seamstress. His origins are unknown, but will play a crucial role in the story. A victim of bullying due to his size, he flees his school, and finds himself on a dizzying journey from adventure to adventure within a short period of time. He spooks a horse carrying a young lady of the royal (human) family, finds himself enrolled in the palace guard (mouse edition), is transported by bats, lands in a bowl of punch, and has an interview with Queen Victoria herself. His birth and destiny carry him to a memorable denouement where his tale - and tail - come full circle. 

 One of Kelly Murphy's delightful illustrations.

I haven’t read enough Peck (indeed, none beyond these two books) to have any idea what the rest of his books are like. From these two, however, I can say that Peck can serve as a gateway drug, as it were, into the world of Victorian England and the literature about said era. I mentioned James, but I would also say that this book might be an introduction to any number of “adult” books about the aristocratic society of Europe past. Peck writes more in the vein of, say, Baroness Orczy, than of Dickens, with his love of the aristocracy. Commoners may be mentioned (in this case, in the oblique statement that field mice don’t get names), but their plight is hardly noted. I don’t find this to be a particular problem, for the simple reason that these books are meant to be a fun escape, not social commentary. Aristocratic foibles are gently mocked while the system is just assumed to exist. By transforming human society to a rodent society, some of the silliness becomes more apparent, but that isn’t Peck’s point.

In this book, the theme might be that of the classic underdog finding his way in the world. Or it might be the idea that speaking one’s mind might cause short term problems but could ultimately be a sign of a noble character. Or perhaps it was just a chance to put the Queen in a story and have a little fun with it.

There were a few lines that I found amusing. The first was one borrowed from the previous book. Mice are always conscious of “time running out.” Perhaps we humans ought to realize the same.

The other was a line that I think might have been in the previous book. “For everything a human is doing, somewhere there is a mouse doing the same thing, but better.” (I think I got that right. It’s hard to find a line on an audiobook…)

And then, there was the fact that the hero of the tale is a bit, um, “fun sized.” Throughout the book, he keeps getting asked if he is small, or if he is just not quite grown. As a short (and baby-faced) man myself, I have heard the equivalent of this far too often. (At age 20, I was mistaken for 12, which is the main reason I grew a beard…) Even at 38, I still get carded for wine and ammo. Even when I have the kids with me. So I sympathise a bit. (And the kids found this line hilarious.)

Bottom line: this is an amusing tale for children, but it also contains enough wit for the adults, including enough about the Victorian Era to spark some conversations about class and history. And if you, like me, have a child who loves mice, it will inevitably become part of the library one way or another.

Reading With My Kids: Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck

Source of book: Audio book from the Library

We recently took our annual summer trip to see my in-laws, and that meant a lot of hours on the road. As usual, we got some audiobooks to fill the time. Also as usual, my kids did the picking, so that meant yet another mouse story.

(You can read about The Tale of Despereaux here.)

I had never heard of the book, or of its author, Richard Peck, but I understand he has written quite a few kids books. Secrets at Sea was published in 2011, and was a critical hit. Peck started his career as an english teacher at both the high school and junior high levels. He wrote his first book in 1971, and has written one book per year since. A Year Down Yonder won the Newbery in 2001.

As far as I can tell, most of his books are about people, rather than mice; and are set in more contemporary times.

My first thought about a third of the way through the book was that Secrets at Sea was the sort of book that would have been written by Henry James, were he a mouse. The setting and many of the events are so very Jamesian, and seem almost to have been inspired by a diet of James novels.

Without ruining the plot, here is the setup. During the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria, an orphaned family of American mice (from a long, distinguished family) discover that their humans are taking a trip to England in an attempt to marry off the eldest daughter, who seems to be incompetent at love. The mice tag along, overcoming their fear of water because of the greater fear of starvation without the necessary crumbs. On board, they must work behind the scenes to further the romantic and social interests of their humans, with the aid of a whole host of other mice aboard the ship.

So, you have the clash of cultures across the Atlantic, the marital scheming, the “ugly American” tendencies of the mother, and a pompous “mouse in waiting” to the queen, who shares a bit of the royal ego herself. There is, admittedly, a bit more action than in the average James novel, and the ending is a happy one - it is a kids’ book after all.

There are some good lines too. Mice, according to the narrator (Helena, the eldest as she reminds everyone regularly), dream about only two things: cheese, and time running out. Because time is always running out for mice.

In another fun touch, the mice refer to their own presence as an “infestation.” The way they use the term, it is a positive, sort of like a big party. A “major infestation” of the ship includes fine dining and dances, and so on.

I also liked the way Peck lovingly dwells on the food. Perhaps he is my kind of philosopher. We dream of good eats - and time running out.

Also, like some of Peck’s other novels, there is an underlying theme of teenaged (or perhaps young adult) disaffectedness and jealousy. The youngest sister seems to be able to attract boys at will. As the two older sisters bemoan, the guys always go for her sort, and ignore the more steady and responsible older sisters. Particularly poor Helena, who has had to raise the others. She must always be the one who makes sure things get done and that the others stay out of trouble. It also makes her quite the opposite from the belle of the ball. Her efforts to find her way in an unfamiliar world, relying on her own strengths, rather than imitating her sisters make up a significant portion of the book. One cannot but root for her to succeed.

This isn’t a particularly long book, but it has its charms, and could be an introduction to the themes of Victorian and Edwardian literature as well.

Although I obviously didn’t get to see the illustrations at the time, they are rather nice as well.

Kelly Murphy has illustrated for a number of notable authors.