Orville Mouse and the Puzzle of the Clockwork Glowbirds

Orville Wellington Mouse, Volume 1

By: Tom Hoffman

Narrated by: Jason Zenobia

Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Orville Wellington Mouse lives with his mum in the quiet fishing village of Muridaan Falls, Symoca. His life takes an unexpected turn when he learns his best friend, Sophia Mouse, is not only from another planet, but is also a member of the Shapers Guild, a group of powerful mice who are able to convert their thoughts into physical objects.

When Orville notices a group of seven glowbirds exhibiting rather extraordinary behavior, he and Sophia attempt to uncover the origin of the unusual birds but soon find themselves enmeshed in a fiendish plot to embroil Symoca in a horrific war.

Captured by the powerful and mysterious Red Mouse, the two adventurers are hurled through a spectral door into the terrifying world of Periculum, home of the dreaded giant, carnivorous centipedes.

With help from the secretive Metaphysical Adventurers, Proto the Rabbiton, the Mad Mouse of Muridaan, a gigantic Gnorli bird, some ghostly Anarkkian warriors, and the enigmatic Monks of the Blue Robe, Orville and Sophia must find their way home and stop the evil Red Mouse before he destroys Symoca.

©2016 Tom Hoffman (P)2018 Tom Hoffman

Critic reviews

"Orville Mouse and the Puzzle of the Clockwork Glowbirds, book 1, is one of those rare finds! Orville Wellington Mouse, Sophia, and Proto are delightful creatures that will capture the hearts of their listeners while solving a mystery, saving their world, exploring new worlds and coming face to face with deadly and scary skin eating centipedes! This is a fantastic adventure that everyone should experience!

The character development is detailed and solid. Orville comes across as either younger than a “tween” or perhaps extremely protected as he has to have a lot more direction than anyone else, including Proto. Tom Hoffman delivers a delightful tale of morals and ethics that children of all ages should be able to understand. Although I have doubts that teenagers would read it (they like very little), everyone else regardless of age could enjoy it.

The plot moves smoothly forward; everything flows. The dialog while repetitious at times it is not overly so. The dialog reminded me of things young adults would say.

I listened to this audiobook as I was driving to a meeting that was several hours away. I found it relaxing and interesting at the same time. A great traveling book!

The narrator, Jason Zenobia performed the book with the proper flair and excitement, his performance was top notch! I enjoyed his different voices for the characters and his ability to project the personality of the characters vividly in his tones.

There were no issues with quality or production of this audiobook." (Charla White)

Charming, fun, and sometimes hilarious tale

Tom Hoffman has cleverly set forth a band of creature-characters to live out questions on the nature of realty, and all in a charming, fun, and sometimes hilarious series of trial-and-error-type adventures. They most amusing, sometimes irreverent, and easy to love. The dialogue is mystical and charming and hilarious at times. This is one of those YA books that many adults will enjoy, especially if they like stories that serve as a layperson’s guide to metaphysics and quantum physics. Jason Zenobia narrates-to-perfection this whimsical, adventure-filled, fantasy. Bravo, Mr. Hoffman! Well done!

Storytelling at its very best

Author Tom Hoffman and narrator Jason Zenobia are a perfect pairing. Zenobia's clear British diction and nimble voices bring Hoffman's magical tale to life in such a way that I listened far longer than I'd planned to for each session. Zenobia voices distinguish easily between characters good and evil, male and female. I never felt lost. Do yourselves a favor and play this on a long car trip with the kids. The adults will be as fascinated as the children. I hope this partnership continues through the entire Orville Mouse series.

Story for the young at heart

This is a wonderfully delightful book. A story about friendship and love. The characters have adventures with lots of action but without any violence; the author give a great moral compass as the characters progress through their adventures. This would be a great book for children who have an accelerated vocabulary or for adults who are young at heart. The author offers so many different ideas for children to think about and creates great talking points. I think this would be a fantastic story for families to listen to together.

The narrator did a good job.

"This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

ENTERTAINING AND FUN!

What a fun and unique audiobook! Fun for kids and adults alike. The main character, Orville Wellington Mouse, and his friends are hilarious, fun and entertaining! There are all sorts of challenges they meet and conquer, and some really good life lessons mixed in. You haven't lived, after all, until you've seen a huge carnivorous centipede!

Very well written and narrated, I enjoyed the story, the writing, and the audio. Super well done and a great listen! Recommended! :)

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
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Creakers! That was amazing!

It masquerades as a children's book, but is so SO much more of a grand adventure than you could possibly dream! With new friends to make around every corner, and dangers to face with abnormally large tentacles and many many rows of teeth, this is one story not to be missed. I'm not even generally a fan of audio books, but the tale combined with the telling was perfect, complete with an assortment of voices befitting each of our new friends... and even our enemies!

Orville Mouse and the puzzle of the Clockwork Glowbirds

A very enjoyable tale. The narrator did an excellent job bringing the story to life. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Delightful Tween Creature Mystery!

Orville Mouse and the Puzzle of the Clockwork Glowbirds, book 1, is one of those rare finds! Orville Wellington Mouse, Sophia, and Proto are delightful creatures that will capture the hearts of their listeners while solving a mystery, saving their world, exploring new worlds and coming face to face with deadly and scary skin eating centipedes! This is a fantastic adventure that everyone should experience!

The character development is detailed and solid. Orville comes across as either younger than a “tween” or perhaps extremely protected as he has to have a lot more direction than anyone else, including Proto. Tom Hoffman delivers a delightful tale of morals and ethics that children of all ages should be able to understand. Although I have doubts that teenagers would read it (they like very little), everyone else regardless of age could enjoy it.

The plot moves smoothly forward; everything flows. The dialog while repetitious at times it is not overly so. The dialog reminded me of things young adults would say.

I listened to this audiobook as I was driving to a meeting that was several hours away. I found it relaxing and interesting at the same time. A great traveling book!

The narrator, Jason Zenobia performed the book with the proper flair and excitement, his performance was top notch! I enjoyed his different voices for the characters and his ability to project the personality of the characters vividly in his tones.

There were no issues with quality or production of this audiobook.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author/narrator/publisher.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog.

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A book about friendship, fun and life

In Orville's world, everything works best when you listen to your inner voice. He starts by dreaming of juicy oranges and ends up as someone stronger, kinder and more understanding, all the while having tremendous fun with his best friend Sophia (who is a bit of a know-it-all, but in a good way) and a huge Rabbiton Proto (who is somehow a fan of dangerous beasts with poisonous fangs).

There are several complex spiritual (or metaphysical) concepts explained nicely in this book. How it's not about the goal, but the road to it, how we are all one, that everything happens for a reason... and many more. Yet the book is not preachy. It has a nice easy flow to it. And there are giant carnivorous centipedes!

If you want to start a conversation on spirituality, morality and ethics with your kiddo, this might be a nice book to spur it. I'm very curious to know what my own kiddo will take from this book when he grows a bit.


I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you so much, Tom!

This one's got it all!

I fell head over heels in love with Orville and Sophia! This is an adventure tale for sure--one that will keep you turning page after page--but it's also a brilliant primer on metaphysics for children of all ages. Your perspective of the world will never be the same after you read this and the writing is impeccable. This is exactly the kind of book I wish existed when my son was growing up. Bravo to Hoffman for creating a true winner! The narration in the audio version is a delight to hear. All of the characters voices are fun and engaging. Jason Zenobia does an excellent job!

Fun Mouse Fantasy Adventure

I listen to this one with my 11 year old daughter and we really enjoyed it. The story started out a little confusing but as we and stuck with it it quickly began to make sense. It was a fun mix of like a Geronimo Stilton type story and Five Kingdoms with the shaping magic. The author does set it up for a second book. I would recommend this book to those who like animal, fantasy, and adventure books.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.