Delphine and the Silver Needle

by Alyssa Moon

Overview

To unravel any mystery, find the knot.

When Delphine, a young orphaned dressmaker mouse living in the walls of Cinderella's château, stumbles upon an enormous secret, it upends everything she thought she knew: The magical tailor mice of legend really existed.

Racing to stay ahead of King Midnight, the fearsome leader of the rats who is bent on harnessing age-old magic, Delphine embarks on an epic quest to uncover the truth about the past. Joined by Alexander, the most pompous noblemouse in the royal court, she travels a perilous route, encountering strange enemies and unlikely allies along the way.

Can Delphine uncover the truth and save the kingdom? Or will the evil King Midnight succeed in harnessing the power of the tailor mice?

This action-packed novel is sure to be a hit with readers who like magic, adventure, and very tiny heroes with very big hearts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368048026
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Series:	Delphine
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	641,587
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Alyssa Moon grew up in the Pacific Northwest, which explains her undying enthusiasm for rainy weather. She does her best writing in tea shops, independent bookstores, and at home under her grapefruit tree. She lives in Southern California with her husband and her cat, Picklepop (the “real” Cornichonne), and with three other cats who are a little grumpy at the fact they weren’t also given roles in this book. Delphine and the Silver Needle is her debut novel.

Editorial Reviews

01/01/2021

Gr 3–6—Delphine appeared one night as a young mouseling on the steps of the Chateau Desjardins (aka Cinderella's abode), wrapped in a cloth with a human-sized needle. Now grown, she has never quite felt like she belongs in the mouse community, though she took pleasure in her passion for sewing. Soon after Delphine sews an exquisite gown for the mouse princess, her mysterious origins catch up with her. The rats, who have had a treaty with the mice for the last 100 years, attack her in an attempt to steal her needle. Delphine's daring escape with the dashingly obnoxious Sir Alexander (Delphine does not need rescuing, thank you very much) is the beginning of a quest to find out who she is and how she fits into the ancient magical order of the Threadeds. Along the way, she awakens the magic in the needle and herself as she realizes not all in the order are gone. This anthropomorphic animal story offers a new perspective on the typical "Cinderella" story, while hearkening back to the "Redwall" series, complete with an abbey run by a badger. The mood of this fairy-tale adventure is both exciting and reassuring, and the fast-paced plot gives enough clues to keep readers guessing without making all the connections. This first installment ends on an exciting cliff-hanger. VERDICT A delight of a quest story that will fill the need of readers seeking a fractured fairy tale, talking animals, or just a quick-moving adventure.—Clare A. Dombrowski, Amesbury P.L., MA

School Library Journal

2021-01-26
A foundling mouse sets out to uncover the mystery of her origins and of the magical needle sized for humans that was left with her.

Delphine’s travels begin with a summons to the palace, where her growing reputation as a brilliant seamstress commands an order for a ball gown for Princess Petits-Oiseaux—and also gives her a chance to discover exciting hints about a vanished order of needle-wielding magic mice known as the Threaded and of an ancient war with the rats. Meanwhile, no sooner does Midnight, cruel king of the rats, learn that the needle they have been seeking for a century has been found than said old war suddenly heats up and turns into a deadly chase. Also meanwhile, only barely noticed by the animal cast but sure to snag readers’ attention, certain events involving another seamstress, a pumpkin coach, a ball, a prince, and a glass slipper are happening above the floorboards in the parallel human world. That isn’t the only sly touch in this bibbidi bobbidi debut, which is rich in clearly delineated character types, features plenty of brisk action, and is also, overall, more than a bit reminiscent in tone and setting to Brian Jacques’ Redwall series (though with more focus on fashion than food). While this volume is mostly setup, heroes and villains alike end up on their marks, and plenty of loose ends remain to stitch up later.

A charming series opener. (Animal fantasy. 10-12)

Kirkus Reviews