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“Details of the mouse world that bustles around and under thehuman world will enchant lovers of animal fantasy, and cleverrunning jokes provide both humor and continuity….”from the mouse with the question mark tailTHE MOUSE WITH THEQUESTION MARK TAILPeck, RichardIllus. by Murphy, KellyDial (240 pp.)$16.99 | Jul. 2, 2013978-0-8037-3838-6Peck returns to the parallel mousesociety he introduced in the effervescentSecrets at Sea (2011) for a rodent’s-eye viewof Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.Readers first meet the titular mouse, the book’s narrator, inthe Royal Mews. A foundling, he’s been brought up by his “aunt”Marigold, who is fond of aphorisms. “Nameless is Blameless” isone of her favorites, used whenever her young charge asks whohe is. Blameless he may be, but that doesn’t keep him out ofscrapes. On the run from a couple of school bullies, he findshimself exposed, in his school uniform, on the floor of the royalriding school, where he is noticed by a human—most definitelynot the done thing. In short order, he goes from this disgrace torefuge in a horse’s manger to a daylong stint as a Yeomouse ofthe Guard to the private chambers of Queen Victoria, where heblunders into secret upon secret, including, at the end, his identity.Peck binds this unlikely romp together with his characteristicallywitty and precise prose, flavored by an endearing blendof humility and superiority that only a British foundling mousecan muster. Details of the mouse world that bustles around andunder the human world will enchant lovers of animal fantasy,and clever running jokes provide both humor and continuity(our poor hero is repeatedly asked, “Are you not yet full-grown,or just short?”).This mouse-sized identity quest sparkles. (Animal fantasy.8-12) (The publisher of this title is at booth 1521.)GAME ON!Peirce, LincolnIllus. by Peirce, LincolnAndrews McMeel (224 pp.)$9.99 paper | Apr. 16, 2013978-1-4494-2777-1Series: Big NateBig Nate Wright has got game! Atleast he thinks he does.Star of five novels, numerous collectionsof comics and two activity books(so far), sixth-grader and aspiring comics creator Nick showshis sportsmanship in this newest collection of newspaper funnies.The full-color strips, one to a page, are organized in threebig chapters: “Swish,” about basketball; “Play Ball,” about LittleLeague; and “Goal,” about soccer. Within those chapters arefive or six strip stories and general-topic weekend strips (whichhave, of course, a few more panels to set up their comedy). Thestrips are in chronological order within each sport and coverseveral seasons (especially the baseball section). In “Swish,”always-small-in-stature Nate tries to “bulk up” so he can runwith the big boys. He also loses his lucky socks and deals with asudden inability to “trash talk” on the court. In “Play Ball,” theteam deals with the stigma of being sponsored by a beauty salon(go, Chez Linda!), suffers under drill-sergeant substitute coachJohn and plays a championship game—unfortunately withouttheir star players. In “Goal,” exchange student (and Nate nemesis)Artur joins the team, and the boys play through a cold snap.Nate deals with his...issues with humor, slight sarcasm and (sortof) aplomb.Fans and collectors will want ’em all. Big Nate continuesto rock. (Comics collection. 6-12) (Lincoln Peirce will be signing galleys ofGame On! on Saturday, June 1 from 10-11 a.m. at booth 2657.)PRISONER 88Pileggi, LeahCharlesbridge (144 pp.)$16.95 | $9.99 e-book | Aug. 1, 2013978-1-58089-560-6978-1-60734-534-3 e-bookA surprisingly affecting portrait of a10-year-old boy in 1885 who is sentencedto five years for manslaughter and sent tothe Idaho Territorial Penitentiary.Inspired by a real incident reportedin an Idaho newspaper on May 2, 1885, Pileggi convincingly createsa story of a resilient, not-really-aware-that-he’s-neglected,illiterate boy with a big heart. Jake struggles to comprehend andsurvive a harsh prison setting that was never set up to includejuveniles. And yet “I was settled in just fine,” thanks in part tothe kindly warden who arranges for him to work on a hog farmand take reading lessons from a fellow prisoner and to “eatinga heaped-up tray of food every darned day.” Told from Jake’spoint of view in the first person, this fast-paced, absorbingdebut covers approximately nine months. Jake, aka “prisoner88,” is attacked on several occasions and, during an attemptedescape of two of the prisoners, does what he thinks is right, withunforeseen consequences. He takes his job tending the hogsseriously and witnesses both the birth of a litter of piglets anda slaughter. And, against all odds, he develops a community ofsorts—a young guard, the farm family, several prisoners, a cat....Mystery surrounds his own story—what happened that day inthe saloon when his Pa was threatened and a gun went off, killingthe owner; was an injustice done when Jake was convicted?Young readers, including reluctant ones, will be rootingfor Jake. (archival photograph, author’s note) (Historicalfiction. 10-13) (The publisher of this title is at booth 828.)| kirkus.com | children’s | bea special supplement | 51