Secrets at Sea

A very fun read. It is clever, with vivid characters. Kids will love it. It was a lot of fun.

I am a 65 year old grandmother who reads aloud for a third grade class. After reading the reviews, I purchased this book and was really excited about reading it to my kids. I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I was in it. The vocabulary and references to a time long past is way over third grade understanding. I found myself stopping constantly to ask if they knew what things meant, and they never did. There were words in it even I didn't know, like retinue. What elementary age child knows what that means? I didn't know what it meant, although I could figure it out, but I had my teacher (who also didn't know the word) look it up to confirm. The story was great in its premise, and great it its storytelling, if you are 65. It was a struggle getting through it and the kids were happy it was over. This book was written for adults to read, and it was well written for adults to read, but I don't know too many adults who are into mice stories. It took far too much time explaining things and therefore we lost the continuity of the story.I brought it home with me and I will edit it and put in words they can understand so next year when I read it to the 3rd grade, we won't have to stop every page to explain.

I ordered this after reading a great review in the New York Times and looked forward to reading it before passing it on to my grandchildren. I ended up disappointed, though perhaps the review created expectations that were just too high.The settings--an old house in the U.S., an ocean liner, Buckingham Palace--are superb. The details of mouse life in the Victorian era are wonderfully imagined. The writing bounces along merrily. But ultimately the story left me disappointed. It's one thing that all the humans (and this is really entirely a book about girls and women) are focused on nothing but getting their girls married off to the right men, but why do those fabulous, clever, brave mice have to follow suit?

My 9 year old son enjoyed it.

Once again, Richard Peck weaves a tale that keeps you interested to the end. Not as good as some of his books written about people, but the ending makes it worth reading. Good book for children, happy ending.

Having read Secrets at Sea, I can definitely see a Disney-type movie in the works. It follows along the lines of Despereaux. It was funny and kept your interest with the antics of the little mice.Although I am an adult, I would definitely recommend it for children of all ages and adults, too.

I'm reading this to my boys. They love it and beg for more. It is so beautifully written.

What a treat to come upon this book-- it is charming, both my 6 year old daughter and her 8 year old brother loved it-- there is a sassy female heroine, swashbuckling adventure, endearing illustrations, and great vocabulary. I bought this for other young family members and all are delighted!

Good book