Middle-grade Monday: Here Lies the Librarian

Title: Here Lies the Librarian
Author: Richard Peck
Publication Info: Dial Books, 2006, 160 pages.
Source: Library digital resources

Publisher's Blurb:
Peewee idolizes Jake, a big brother whose dreams of auto mechanic glory are fueled by the hard road coming to link their Indiana town and futures with the twentieth century. And motoring down the road comes Irene Ridpath, a young librarian with plans to astonish them all and turn Peewee’s life upside down.This novel, with its quirky characters, folksy setting, classic cars, and hilariously larger-than-life moments, is vintage Richard Peck – an offbeat, deliciously wicked comedy that is also unexpectedly moving. 


My Review: 
Richard Peck's historical fiction served in part as inspiration when I wrote my Ninja Librarian stories. I first read this one after I'd written at least the first book, which is maybe just as well, because if I'd read this first, I might have given up and left the librarians to Peck.

Actually, it's not the librarians that leave me in awe of Peck's writing. It's the way he makes the language stand up and do double service. Every word is spot on, for the story and the characters and the way he wants us to feel about them. I also love the way Peewee comes around from celebrating having been banned for life from the library to loving it and reading all sorts of books. Of course, when we find that the banishment was for--gasp!--wanting to take a book home, some things start to make more sense.

My only objection here might be the usual one, that Peewee is forced to grow up, which seems to require leaving certain dreams behind. But of course, we all *are* required to grow up--and in this case, Peewee at least makes the decisions about what dreams will go and what will stay, for the most part--the process doesn't feel as externally imposed as in some books (see my review of A Stitch in Time, for example.

My Recommendation:
I will always recommend Richard Peck's work, for anyone from about age 9 up. His balance of humor and serious issues is pitch-perfect, in my opinion, and his books should encourage reluctant readers to keep turning pages.

FTC Disclosure: I checked Here Lies the Librarian out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

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The Smashwords Summer/Winter sale ends Wednesday, so head on over and get my books for bargain-basement prices.

Middle Grade Audiobook: The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail

Title: The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail
Author: Richard Peck; read by James McCourt
Publisher: Listening Library,  2013; originally Dial Books, 2013 (240 pages).
Source: Library (digital resources)

Summary: 
He's the smallest mouse in the Mews at Buckingham Palace, and he's an orphan without even a name. Aunt Marigold, the head mouse seamstress, raises him and sends him to the Mouse Mews Academy, but she won't tell him his name. Soon "Mouse Minor," as the other mice at the academy dub him, is on the run from bullies and looking for his identity. His quest takes him into the palace on the eve of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, and he survives a lot of adventures by just a whisker before finding himself--in more ways than one--in the presence of the queen of the mice.

My Review:
I have yet to find any tale by Richard Peck anything less than delightful. This one is no exception. With a dry sense of humor and some asides that are aimed at the adults but won't hurt the kids, Peck takes us on a fast-moving adventure (because mice never have very much time) through the palace gardens, attics, and even Queen Victoria's bedchamber.

James McCourt's reading of the story is perfect--his voice is just right, and he renders the first-person narrative so that I'll never hear that character in any other way!

If I were giving stars, I'd give this one 5, for just being marvelous fun.

Rambling thought: what is it about us humans and talking mice? Stuart Little, Despereaux, Reepicheep, and who knows how many others. Maybe mice are the most convincing "Little People" we can come up with, if we can't believe in fairies? And they ARE everywhere :)

Recommendation:
This book is suitable for kids of any age, really, though the reading level is probably about age 9. Maybe 8; some kids will struggle a bit with references to things that are particularly British, or that are long since vanished from everyday use (it is, after all, historical fiction!). But my experience is that the adults worry more about that than most kids, who just accept stuff and read on to find out what will happen next to the intrepid Mouse Minor.


FTC Disclosure: I checked The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail out of my (digital) library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."