The Case of the Missing Auntie (The Mighty Muskrats Series #2)

by Michael Hutchinson

Overview

The Mighty Muskrats are off to the city to have fun at the Exhibition Fair. But when Chickadee learns about Grandpa’s missing little sister, who was adopted by strangers without her parents’ permission many years ago, the Mighty Muskrats have a new mystery to solve.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781772601176
Publisher:	Second Story Press
Publication date:	03/17/2020
Series:	A Mighty Muskrats Mystery , #2
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.32(d)
Lexile:	640L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Michael Hutchinson is Swampy Cree from the Treaty 5 area and a member of the Misipawistik Cree Nation. He wrote the Mighty Muskrats Mystery series to educate young Canadians, build pride in First Nation and impoverished youth, and create a better Canadian and First Nations relationship.

Editorial Reviews

The Case of the Missing Auntie is a well-told mystery that deals with important topics at a middle-grade level. It is highly recommended for school and public libraries.

Canadian Review of Materials

Delivered a surprising end to the story, one that left me envious of the close family ties Chickadee and the boys enjoy.

The Montreal Gazette

How often have you read a middle grade mystery novel that had you in tears just a few pages after making you laugh? ... Missing Auntie is a good read, with an emotional punch, and I can hardly wait for the Mighty Muskrats to take their next case.

American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) - Jean Mendoza

What is so unique about Hutchinson’s book is the seamless way that he integrates real issues, among them the impact of the residential schools system and the resulting traumas it caused in the lives of so many Indigenous people, into the novel, while never losing the tension of the mystery that the Muskrats are trying to solve. It’s exciting and deeply moving and a must-read for middle-grade readers.

The Globe and Mail

This novel would be an appropriate accompaniment for school curricula about residential schools and the Sixties Scoop. It also presents an excellent example to students of how one goes about conducting historical research and the types of organizations, such as archives, that can be used to facilitate such research.

While the first book in the series, The Case of Windy Lake, provides background about Chickadee, her cousins, their family, and community, it is not necessary to read the first novel before embarking on this one. The Case of the Missing Auntie is a well-told mystery that deals with important topics at a middle-grade level. It is highly recommended for school and public libraries. Highly Recommended.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

2020-01-12
The Mighty Muskrats, four mystery-solving cousins from Windy Lake First Nation in Canada, find themselves in the big city searching for a relative who went missing decades ago.

Tech-savvy Chickadee and her cousins—muscled Atim, bookworm Samuel, and guitar-strumming Otter—travel to the city for a week of fun at the Exhibition Fair. When Chickadee tells them about Great-Auntie Charlotte, Grandpa's little sister who was "scooped" to a residential school before being adopted out by the government, the group decides to make finding her their next mission. But the lure of the fair, an opportunity to see a favorite rock star in concert, and a chance encounter with an old friend from the rez split the team's priorities, taking them in different directions and threatening the case. Unless they regroup, they may never cut through the red tape and uncover what happened to Charlotte. Though the harsh realities of Canada's historical treatment of First Nations are central to the plot, the complexities of the subject matter are age-appropriate and easily digestible. Fans of Hutchinson's (Misipawistik Cree) first entry in his Mighty Muskrats Mystery Series, The Case of Windy Lake (2019), will eagerly join the crew once again, and all the twists and turns one expects from a good mystery will quickly hook new readers.

A compelling "urban bush" adventure that offers light and reconciliation to dark truths. (Mystery. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews