Just 11 of the most familiar rhymes, each spread over four pages with a strategically placed peephole in the middle leaf. Many of the rhymes are linked not only by the mouse (hero of the title verse) that makes an appearance as a concerned observer on every page, but by the natural progression of the lovingly detailed landscape background. The talented Australian illustrator (This Old Man, 1990) also provides some delightful amplifications: e.g., Humpty Dumpty falls because he's startled by a worm in his apple; one of the king's horses gets the apple, while a nearby bird (whose eggs have meanwhile hatched) gets the worm. And the old woman in the shoe does ``whip'' her children, but it's clearly a love-pat as her entrancing crew of busy little mice climb a ladder to bed (most of the characters are represented as human). Charmingly inventive, a book to pore over again and again. A first purchase. (Folklore/Picture book. 3-8)
