MOUSE SCOUTS

Best friends Tigerlily and Violet earn merit badges and develop their leadership skills as newly minted Acorn Scouts.

After their time together in the Buttercups, both mice are ready for the rigors of being full-fledged Acorns. Whether it’s the acorn salute or the Mouse Scout pledge, earnest Violet is dedicated to the Scouts and their mission. Her best friend, Tigerlily, is something of a Type B—a good balance for Violet. Their first project is to grow vegetables. Violet loves the challenge, but Tigerlily needs a recon mission to the shed to get engaged. The scout troop is made up of all sorts of scouts, from lactose-intolerant Junebug to bored-out-of-her mind Hyacinth. They face all the challenges of gardening, from planting and watering to fighting off pests both small (bugs) and large (such raiders as rabbits and squirrels, who speak but do not wear clothes). Excerpts from the Mouse Scout Handbook add information about gardening and scout rules and keep the story moving along. Droll black-and-white pencil drawings add dimension and humor to each spread and help new chapter-book readers negotiate the challenge of long stretches of print. The second book in the series, Mouse Scouts Make a Difference, sees these scouts trying to effect positive change and finding that it is harder than they anticipated.

Strong characters plus lots of laughs make this a welcome series for new readers, who will look forward to reading about all 16 badges.