Ezra and the Mouse: The Search for Lafayette

Author: Victoria J. Coe

Publisher: Duxbury Rural & Historical Society

Release Date: September 14/21

Page Length: 205 pages

Reviewer: Laurie

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher Duxbury Rural & Historical Society, and author Victoria J. Coe for a digital ARC of this title to read.

I am using a new review format. You can find few more details about 5-4-3-2-1 here.

5 – Sentence Summary

Told in alternating points of view, Ezra is a young boy who longs to be part of the family business but is pushed aside due to his rheumatoid arthritis and over-protected mother. Bertie and his sister Olive are mice trying to reunite with their family on a ship before it leaves, after being separated when Bertie convinces Olive to go on an adventurous detour. The detour results in Olive injuring her leg and Ezra saving the mice from a horse hoof and decides to keep them. Ezra discovers a mystery around the family’s latest ship leaving for France, while Bertie and Olive need to get to that ship but are trapped. Can the two pairs work together to solve the mystery and reunite the mice family back together?

For further details, please refer to this GoodReads Link. 

4 – Opinions

Admittedly I am not a big animal story reader, so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed getting to know not one but two sets of family members who supported and looked out for one another. Readers will relate and enjoy the camaraderie, not just between Ezra and his cousin Elizabeth, Bertie and his sister Olive but the entire family of mice living in Ezra’s house. 

The alternating point of view also moved the story along at a quick pace. Victoria J. Coe leaves each chapter with a cliff-hanger, so readers keep turning the pages to find out what happens with Ezra and then Bertie. It is a well-balanced back and forth developing the characters and the relationship between Ezra and Bertie while providing the action and the mystery to solve keeping us engaged.

In addition to having the theme of family and suspense of Bertie and his sister trying to get back to their family, Mx. Coe adds another layer by providing a mystery to solve. Who is the mysterious cigar-smoking man that appears at the ship christening? Again, another way to keep readers interested and allowing them to think and solve the mystery themselves.

Finally, I loved how Ezra had a chronic condition we do not often see in middle-grade books. Using the mirrors and windows analogy developed by Dr. Rudime Sims Bishop, some readers will finally see themselves in a story, while other readers get a glimpse of the impact of a chronic illness and learn a bit about rheumatoid arthritis.

Be sure to read the Author’s Note that provides some background on how Victoria J. Coe connected her love of various literary mice growing up to the history of Duxbury; it was fascinating. I would use Coe’s note as a springboard for creating curiousity and for students writing their own stories. Ezra and the Mouse: The Search for Lafayette, released September 14, is for fans of animal stories, adventure, mystery and historical fiction and a book you should add to your collection. 

3 – Similar Titles

Heartwood Hotel Series by Kallie George

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Stuart Little by E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams

2 – Picture Book Connections

Whose Mouse Are You? by Robert Kraus, illustrated by Jose Aruego. 

Mice: Nocturnal Explorers by Rebecca Rissman

1 -Creator Contact

Victoria J. Coe is very active on social media. You can find her on Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, YouTube and has a website. 

First Line Blastoff

Ezra Weston IV had been banished from the action once again.