Chipper and the Prince
by Harriet Cameron
Trafford Publishing


"My friends are calling me a liar. I hate them."

Chipper, a mouse, lives in an abandoned hotel where hundreds of other mice live, play, and tell stories together. An integral part of their culture, storytelling is used as a tool to teach the younger generation of mice valuable life lessons, pass down the histories of their families, or simply to entertain. Some of the stories may be true while others fictional. Elders warn the younger mice that if they tell stories which are fictional, to state it as so, or no one will ever trust them.

It starts off with a congregation of mice gathered in the pool parlor all eager to get a chance to speak. Despite its title, Cameron's book does not solely revolve around a mouse named Chipper. There are stories about pirates and artistic endeavor in France, among other things, before Chipper even enters the scene. When he does, Chipper warns his audience that while his story is different from the others, it is true. By the end of his tale, however, the congregation mocks him and calls him a liar. Hurt and full of rage, Chipper rushes from the room. How can he convince the others that he was telling the truth?

The author takes a neat spin on the Cinderella tale through the eyes of the mouse who was transformed into a horse on that fateful night the fairy godmother visited. The story does not replicate the fairytale through the mouse's perspective, however. It is meant to be a plot twist towards the end of the book for the younger audience, perhaps as a means to show that, as Lord Byron once put it, truth is stranger than fiction. The bright color pencil illustrations complement the story well. The tale is light-hearted, original, and will appeal to children and adults alike.

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