I just wished the book had more input from other cast members and people that worked on the show behind the scene. Enjoyable read! ( )

This is the first book that I have read on the original Mickey Mouse Club from the 1950s. Yes, there are many others out there, but this is the most recent. A very quick but enjoyable read. It is interesting to read how Disney used the original Mice to further his dream of building the Happiest Place on Earth. We read about off-screen crushes and romances as well as what it was like to be fired as a Mouseketeer. The author's style of attribution is something you really need to pay attention to while reading else you think the person she is quoting is someone else. ( )

I think this book is a “Where are they now?” Book and a "Behind the Scenes” Book of the original Mickey Mouse Club . It is fascinating to learn about the different personalities of the show including the two adult members of the cast.

Unfortunately, of what happened to the individual Mouseketeers, I already knew from little pieces of news stories. Some missed the attention from being stars so much that they acted out but others were real success stories later in life.

So what was new for me was what it was like to be a Mouseketeer. The difficult auditions, the scary rehearsals, the friendships and backstage jealousies were all covered.

I was a little surprised at how strict Walt Disney was and unforgiving of childish wishes and desires. Also, I was surprised at how quickly he fired children from the show. If you can sing and dance, must you also act? The kids treated him with great respect but could not bring themselves to call him “Uncle Walt”.

The children’s’ favorite was Jimmie Dodd. I think he was their best grown up friend.
I loved getting to know the background of the kids and how they got on the show.

So my quarrel is not with this unauthorized but well researched book but with the way children were treated back in the 1950s. I do remember some regimentation then in public school so it shouldn't be all that surprising.

I am very glad that Paul Peterson, a former Mouseketeer and heart throb from the Donna Reed show runs an advocacy group for child stars. It was sad to read about the fired Mouseketeers who didn't think of themselves as 'good enough'. I hope that Paul Peterson and others will create ways and means to protect young stars.

This book is very well written, there is an appendix in the back with summaries of the different star lives.

'Why, Because we still Like You' brought back so many memories. I remember racing home to settle down in front of our Philco TV set with my mother on the couch. I sang the Mickey Mouse song along with TV and the roll call was my favorite part of the show.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of the original Mickey Mouse show. ( )

I'm still looking for that book that really puts us boomers back in front of our tvs for those three wonderful years when the Mouseketeers ruled our afternoons. This one was a taste, but not the three course meal I'm craving. ( )

Disclaimer: I won a copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads program.
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This was a fun book to read, even though I've never watched an episode of the Mickey Mouse Club (not even the '90s version). The book mostly focuses on each Mouseketeer's life from auditioning to their post-Mouse career. I found it interesting how difficult it was for most of the Mice to find rewarding careers after the Mickey Mouse Club, especially in light of the huge superstars bred by the newer version of the show. ( )