A Mouse Tail on Mackinac Island Book I and II – By Summer Porter, Illustrated by Maggie Chambers

Review by Deborah K. Frontiera

Mouse Tail I: ISBN 978-1-61599-654-4, Modern History Press 2022, PB ret. $18.95, children’s picture book                                                                

Illustrated book cover titled "A Mouse Tail on Mackinac Island" by Summer Porter, illustrated by Maggie Chambers. Features a yellow house in the background, and a family of five mice dressed in clothes standing in front of it, with a picket fence behind them.In this picture book for the four to eight-year-old crowd, author Summer Porter introduces us to a family of mice in a fun, fantasy ride to Mackinac Island. The mice arrive inside hay bales intended for the many horses on the island. The mouse family consists of Father and Mother mouse, Max (our hero), and Millie and Maizy, twin baby girl mice. The plan is to start a new life on the island. Their first attempts at settling in a new home are disastrous. The library has a resident cat, and the Post Office workers do not appreciate Max’s licking all the stamps. They are chased and shooed out of both. But not all people dislike the mice. A young man on a bicycle who delivers visitors’ luggage to their hotels gives them a ride and helps them find just the right place and job.

This total fantasy of mice and people interacting will delight children and parents and provide those who have never visited Mackinac Island a great introduction to this Michigan State Park where no automobiles are allowed. Selected vocabulary words are highlighted and in all capital letters with definitions for each at the bottom of their respective pages. Cute illustrations by Maggie Chambers provide accurate scenes of the island and its summer visitors with plenty of emotion in the faces of those who dislike mice. The illustrations also give readers a way to really see this fanciful mouse family and their personalities. Text and pictures together provide a great introduction to the island’s uniqueness for those who have never been there, as well as a wonderful souvenir for families visiting to take home and remember all that they saw.  A happy book all around.


Mouse Tail II: ISBN  978-1-61599-816-6, Modern History Press 2024, PB ret. $18.95, children’s picture book

The cover of a children's book titled "A Mouse Tail on Mackinac Island II: The Grand Adventure." It features illustrated mice dressed in summer clothes, with a large white building and green lawn in the background. Authored by Summer Porter and illustrated by Maggie Chambers.The mouse family’s adventures on Mackinac Island continue as the family finds success “working” at the Windemere Hotel. Max licks all the stamps for letters and postcards going out while the rest of the family keeps the crumbs off the floor. They do so well that the hotel’s owner sends them on a well-earned vacation to the Grand Hotel. All starts off wonderfully until … a ride in a toy sailboat is upset by a collision with a rubber ducky, followed by a lot of people guests who are upset when a cat chases the mice during afternoon tea. There are other humorous adventures too, shown in Maggie Chambers’ delightful (and accurate to the actual places) illustrations.

Once again, the author provides highlighting and all-caps for new vocabulary with short, kid-friendly definitions on the same page for parents to share with a four-to-eight-year-old audience. No family should own one without the other. Have fun reading them with kids and ask if they have ever had any “disasters” on a family vacation.

 

 

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