Mouse Guard: Belly of the Beast by David Petersen

Petersen, David. Mouse Guard: Belly of the Beast. Keamy, NJ: Archaia Studios Press, 2006. 24 pages. $3.50 ISBN 1932386149

Plot Summary: Mice Lieam, Kenzie and Saxon leave on a quest to find a missing peddler. They find the peddler's rice cart, but no peddler. The trio encounter a snake, the beast that killed the missing peddler. After battling the beast, Lieam, Kenzie and Saxon learn a dark secret about their missing peddler.

Critical Evaluation: This short comic packs some punch! The illustrations are simple yet beautiful. The story flows smoothly and dialog is easy to follow and read. Although the characters are small creatures, the close up illustrations and rich colors make the mice and snake seem epic. With the interesting pictures, brief dialog and exciting story this comic is sure to be a hit among tweens, and tweens at heart.

Reader's Annotation: Warrior mice Lieam, Kensie and Saxon set off on a quest to find a missing peddler, but find more than they bargained for.

Author Bio: David Petersen grew up on comics, cartoons and boyhood adventures and learned to turn that love into a passionate job. He created Mouse Guard based on his love of fantasy, folklore and comics and has made three Mouse Guard series: Fall 1152, Winter 1152 and Black Axe. David lives with his wife Julia and their dog Autumn in Michigan. David's won awards for his Mouse Guard series including the 2007 Russ Manning Award for Most Promising Newcomer, and two 2008 Eisners for Best Publication for Kids (Mouse Guards Fall 1152 and Winter 1152) and Best Graphic Album-Reprint (Mouse Guard Fall 1152).

Genre: Fantasy, Folklore, Comic

Curriculum Ties:

Booktalking Ideas: Since the books are dependent on the illustrations, reading the book aloud isn't a feasible option. However, showing a few pages while giving a very brief summary either of one book or the volume as a whole would entice tweens and get them wanting to really look at the illustrations and find out what happens.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 8+, Grades 3 and up

Challenges: The fighting may be two graphic for the younger tweens, and the sensitive ones may have issues with animals fighting and killing each other.

Reason for including: When I first saw this series I was hooked. First of all I love mice (all small rodents), second I love the medieval era. Combine them and I'm in heaven. I think this series will appeal to all ages, not just tweens, seeing as I'm 24 and the person I lent them from is 27.