Matson the Mouse - A Brand New Book

We love books in our house.  I started buying children's books before I even had children.  I don't know if it's because we've read to them often and surrounded them with books or if it's just how they are wired, but our kids are both book lovers.  So when asked if I would like a copy of Duncan O'Brien's brand new book Matson the Mouse I said, "Yes, please!"

The book is set in the early 1900s when many visitors to Hawaii arrived by ship.  The story follows a mouse named Matson on his trans-Pacific adventure on board a big white cruise ship.  It's a fun story full of adventure and discovery and teaches a bit about Hawaii's history and culture along the way.

When I think of Matson ships I think of container ships bringing us everything from toilet paper to cars to Christmas trees from the Mainland and other ports.  It wasn't until I read this book that I learned they used to also have passenger ships.  I think I need to read O'Brien's coffee table book, The White Ships, to learn more about them.

As for this children's book, I tested it out on my kids and they both enjoyed it.  My son sat down and read the whole thing to himself as soon as I showed it to him and my daughter has been asking to have it reread to her since the first time through.  

Books are available for sale at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Native Books and online at matsonthemouse.com.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary advance copy of this book so I could review it here.  However I was not required to express any particular opinion of this book and the views written here are my own.