A beautifully produced, full-color graphic novel tells a satisfying story of intrigue and adventure set in a medieval kingdom of mice. Lieam, Saxom, and Kenzie are members of the Mouse Guard. Originally soldiers that defended the kingdom against a weasel warlord, the Guard members now act as escorts and guides in the time of peace, maintaining the balance so that citizens can thrive. But the disappearance of a grain merchant begins a chain of events that leads the trio into the heart of a plot to overthrow the Guard as an unknown enemy of the kingdom makes a grasp for power. Most of the story is told through dialogue between the characters in Petersen’s intricate, elegant artwork, which is the centerpiece of the storytelling as he brings his medieval fantasy world vividly alive. (Ages 9–14)

In the world of Mouse Guard, mice struggle to live safely and prosper amongst harsh conditions and a host of predators. Thus the Mouse Guard was formed: more than just soldiers that fight off intruders, they are guides for common mice looking to journey without confrontation from one hidden village to another. The Guard patrol borders, find safeways and paths through dangerous territories and treacherous terrain, watch weather patterns, and keep the mouse territories free of predatory infestation. They do so with fearless dedication so that they might not just exist, but truly live. Saxon, Kenzie and Lieam, three such Guardsmice, are dispatched to find a missing merchant mouse that never arrived at his destination. Their search for the missing mouse reveals much more than they expect, as they stumble across a traitor in the Guard’s own ranks.