Tag Archives: Richard Peck

The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck

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The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail is a novel by acclaimed author Richard Peck. The story is told from the perspective of a young orphaned mouse. He lives with his aunt in London, in a place near Buckingham Palace called Royal Mews.  Everything about his life is a question mark. He does not know anything about his parents, and he does not know his own name. His tail is even naturally shaped in the form of a question mark. He is much smaller than other mice his age, so people start calling him “Mouse Minor.”

Life is difficult for Mouse Minor. On his first day of school at the Royal Mews Mouse Academy, he is bullied by bigger mice. The bullying gets worse over time, so he tries to escape from the school. However, he is discovered by humans who are amazed to find a mouse dressed in a school uniform. This triggers a series of events that leads to a wild and exciting adventure, which will ultimately reveal the secret of Mouse Minor’s identity.

I really enjoy the characters in this book. My favorite character is Mouse Minor himself, but I like the other characters as well. Mouse Minor makes a friend named Ian, and I like how well they get along together. I also think this book flows really well. The story is full of twists and surprises. It is also surprisingly realistic, even though the story is about human-like mice. It reminds me of another favorite book of mine, which is Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Despereaux. Both books are quite similar and extremely enjoyable to read. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Libby. 

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

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A Year Down Yonder is a novel by Richard Peck. This book won the Newbery Medal in 2001. It is the sequel to Peck’s A Long Way from Chicago, which received a Newbery Honor in 1999. This story takes place in 1938, during the Great Depression. Joey and Mary Alice are from Chicago. Joey has just left home to join the army. Mary Alice, his 15-year-old sister, is sent to stay with her grandmother in the country. This is disappointing to Mary Alice, because she does not like the idea of living in a farming community. However, her parents feel that they have no choice but to send Mary Alice away due to their financial hardship.

At first, Mary Alice struggles to get used to her new surroundings. Some of her fellow high school students are mean to her. However, Mary Alice’s grandmother comes to the rescue and turns the tables on the bullies. Her grandmother is very protective, and she finds many ways to help Mary Alice feel at home.  Mary Alice gradually becomes accustomed to country life, and after an extended stay with her grandmother, she becomes reluctant to return to Chicago. 

This book is similar in many ways to A Long Way from Chicago. Both books are very enjoyable to read. However, I found A Year Down Yonder to be even better than the first book. The grandmother is highly entertaining in this book, as always. In my opinion, this book is even more humorous and memorable than the first book. It also provides a good historical glimpse into that time period. Richard Peck won a Newbery Honor for the first book, which was quite good. He won the Newbery Medal for this sequel, which was even more impressive. Both books are well-deserving, and I would definitely recommend both of them.

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

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A Long Way from Chicago, by Richard Peck, is a Newbery Honor award-winning book. Joey and his sister, Mary Alice, are growing up in Chicago during the Great Depression. Every summer, their parents send them to the country to visit their grandmother for a week. This book is a “novel in stories,” because each chapter is about one of the annual trips to visit their grandmother. Over the course of these visits, the children gradually realize that their grandmother is a very unusual person. For example, at one point she uses her shotgun to shoot at a corpse inside a coffin. She also throws cherry bombs at kids, and she uses an illegal fish trap while fishing on a boat that she just stole, just to mention some of her zany behavior. As the years go by, the children develop an increasing level of respect and admiration for their grandmother. They come to recognize that the summers spent with their grandmother will become some of the most unforgettable experiences of their lives.

The structure of this book was new to me, because every chapter is like an entirely different story. However, the book still flowed well. It is very easy to pick up and read, and the action is fast-paced. Also, many of the stories are quite funny. Still, I was not sure what to make of the grandmother. She seems to cause quite a bit of chaos in her small community, and sometimes she lies to get out of trouble. At first, I was not sure about what the main message of this book was supposed to be. However, as I thought about it more, I realized that the charm of this book is based on the love that the grandmother has for Joey and Mary Alice. Their grandmother is very eccentric and mischievous, but she takes good care of her grandchildren and she gives them memories that they will never forget. This book is a short read, but I would recommend it to anyone.

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.