A simple but carefully crafted story by a popular storyteller (The Magic Orange Tree, 1978) is brought to enchanting life in meticulous paintings by the illustrator of The Porcupine Mouse (1988). Little Mouse ventures forth each day to share nature's bounty and beauty with her friends: Bear, on whose visor she perches to pick berries; Squirrel, who loves flowers (to eat or to arrange); and Porcupine (``just look at that cloud''). When Little Mouse paints a picture of a berry bush, a flower, and the sun, she's distressed, at first, to have her friends see themselves in her painting rather than the images she intended; still, looking again, she sees that their perceptions are also valid and comes to enjoy the alternative possibilities. The appealing story delivers its message without insistence; the imaginative paintings, burgeoning with delightful detail, are exquisite. (Picture book. 4-8)
