A Mighty Muskrats Mystery

Author: Michael Hutchinson
Publisher: Second Story Press

The Mighty Muskrats are off to the city to have fun at the Exhibition Fair. But when Chickadee learns about Grandpa's little sister, who was scooped up by the government and adopted out to strangers without her parents' permission many years ago, the Mighty Muskrats have a new mystery to solve. Once in the bright lights of the big city, the cousins get distracted, face off with bullies, meet some heroes and unlikely teachers, and learn many of the difficulties of life in the city, as well as hard truths about their country’s treatment of First Nations people.

In what should have been a stellar trip to the big city, a once-in-a-lifetime tween's chance to see a famous rock band and spend some time at the Exhibition Fair, Otter and the other Muskrats find themselves the victims of an old-friend-turned-bully, and in serious trouble. A series of bad choices and mishaps turn a sad situation into something unsalvageable, and the cousins learn the hard way that some things aren't meant to be. However, there are a couple of silver linings in their family vacation that surprise all of them, and reward the Muskrats for all their frustrations, trials and efforts.

During the road trip to their Auntie's place, Otter, Sam, Atim and Chickadee learn about how their great aunt went missing as a child and hasn't been seen since. They are shocked to hear how their beloved grandfather's little sister was taken away during the Sixties Scoop, and adopted out to a non-Indigenous family by Canada's government in the 1960s. After they settle into their cousin's rec room with junk food and plans on how to spend the next several days, it becomes clear to Chickadee that locating their missing auntie needs to become their primary focus.

The cousins end up spending a lot of time at the mall - a new distraction for them -- where they spend money on junk food and lose money on a bet. This severely hampers plans for the rest of their vacation, especially when they become victims of an abduction and robbery. Meanwhile, Chickadee is navigating the city to find archival records that might explain what happened to their missing auntie. Her perseverance pays off, although not in ways anyone was expecting, and Chickadee is able to share something special with Grandpa on a video chat.

Michael Hutchinson's second book in the Mighty Muskrats Mystery series juxtaposes life on the rez where everyone knows everybody's business, to that of city life where Indigenous peoples are a minority and face daily discrimination. His characters (and the reader) also learn about the Sixties Scoop, one of Canada's dark legacies of its treatment of Indigenous peoples. Written with passion, knowledge and respect, the Mighty Muskrats series continues to be both entertaining and educational. The Case of The Missing Auntie is a compact storyline with a balance of action and reflection, a must-read for grades 4-6 as well as older humans on their path to reconciliation.

-D.G