Download high-resolution image
Listen to a clip from the audiobook
audio pause button
0:00
0:00

The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail

Read by Russ Bain
Listen to a clip from the audiobook
audio pause button
0:00
0:00
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.
© Sonya Sones
RICHARD PECK (1934-2018) was born in Decatur, Illinois and lived in New York City for nearly 50 years. The acclaimed author of 35 novels for children and young adults, he won the Newbery Medal for A Year Down Yonder, a Newbery Honor for A Long Way from Chicago, the Scott O’Dell Award for The River Between Us, the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Are You in the House Alone?, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor for The Best Man, and the Christopher Medal for The Teacher’s Funeral. He was the first children’s author ever to have been awarded a National Humanities Medal, and was twice a National Book Award Finalist. View titles by Richard Peck
Rave Reviews for The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail

“This clever yarn should delight fans of animal adventure stories.” —Booklist, starred review

“Readers will gleefully suspend disbelief as they trace Mouse Minor’s exciting journey.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“With a plucky hero, exciting plot...Peck’s latest is a gentle homage to old-school adventure tales.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“Peck’s whimsical and tongue-in-cheek storytelling makes The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail a must for reading aloud.” —The Deseret News

“Children love the idea of tiny, hidden worlds—of pixie, fairy or animal societies that exist alongside our own. Richard Peck taps into this affection with The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail . . . a lively tale.” —The Wall Street Journal

“This change of pace from Peck’s quintessentially American stories will delight readers with its British pageantry seen through the eyes of a feisty, insightful narrator.” —Horn Book
“This mouse-sized identity quest sparkles.”—Kirkus Reviews “A more-than-perfect book to share aloud with young readers.” —Christian Science Monitor

"Peck creates a pleasantly detailed, cozy Victorian mouse world. There's some of Stuart Little's appeal to Mouse Minor's exploits." —BCCB

“Perfect for reading aloud to intermediate grade students or for recommending to readers who enjoy a mystery or a good adventure story. Recommend to fans of The Tale of Despereaux.”—Library Media Connection

About

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

© Sonya Sones
RICHARD PECK (1934-2018) was born in Decatur, Illinois and lived in New York City for nearly 50 years. The acclaimed author of 35 novels for children and young adults, he won the Newbery Medal for A Year Down Yonder, a Newbery Honor for A Long Way from Chicago, the Scott O’Dell Award for The River Between Us, the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Are You in the House Alone?, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor for The Best Man, and the Christopher Medal for The Teacher’s Funeral. He was the first children’s author ever to have been awarded a National Humanities Medal, and was twice a National Book Award Finalist. View titles by Richard Peck

Praise

Rave Reviews for The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail

“This clever yarn should delight fans of animal adventure stories.” —Booklist, starred review

“Readers will gleefully suspend disbelief as they trace Mouse Minor’s exciting journey.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“With a plucky hero, exciting plot...Peck’s latest is a gentle homage to old-school adventure tales.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“Peck’s whimsical and tongue-in-cheek storytelling makes The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail a must for reading aloud.” —The Deseret News

“Children love the idea of tiny, hidden worlds—of pixie, fairy or animal societies that exist alongside our own. Richard Peck taps into this affection with The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail . . . a lively tale.” —The Wall Street Journal

“This change of pace from Peck’s quintessentially American stories will delight readers with its British pageantry seen through the eyes of a feisty, insightful narrator.” —Horn Book
“This mouse-sized identity quest sparkles.”—Kirkus Reviews “A more-than-perfect book to share aloud with young readers.” —Christian Science Monitor

"Peck creates a pleasantly detailed, cozy Victorian mouse world. There's some of Stuart Little's appeal to Mouse Minor's exploits." —BCCB

“Perfect for reading aloud to intermediate grade students or for recommending to readers who enjoy a mystery or a good adventure story. Recommend to fans of The Tale of Despereaux.”—Library Media Connection

Reading with Purpose Summit Event

On Monday, June 10th, Penguin Random House Education and DK Learning co-hosted a Reading with Purpose Summit Event in collaboration with Molly Ness, PhD. The event took place at Penguin Random House’s NYC headquarters and included sessions featuring leading education experts and a lunchtime author panel. The in-person professional learning event was built to show

Read more

2024 Elementary School Collection

The Penguin Random House Education Elementary School Collection features outstanding fiction, nonfiction, and picture books from Penguin Young Reader’s, Random House Children’s, DK, and Grupo Editorial, as well as children’s publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Explore online or download this valuable resource to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: Leveled Readers,

Read more

DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request

Thank you for your interest in DK Learning | Phonic Books. To download the DK Learning | Phonic Books sampler with four complete readers, please click here and complete the form. Once your information is successfully submitted, a link to download the sampler will be provided on the confirmation screen.   Click here to learn

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more