Spirited torn-paper collages show the nighttime romp of a group of mice. One mouse emerges from behind each number of a clock face; they leap and frolic, pursue cake, and scramble to get back before the clock needs them to start the next day. The numbered mice (one to twelve, naturally) riff on dancing and on the sleeping cat Max (also called Lion): “ ‘Fast as you can!’ said Number TEN. / ‘Let’s Electric Slide through the Lion’s den! / I’m Big Daddy, Dancing Daddy, double-digit Ten— / Lion can’t catch me and I’ll say it again.’ ” Occasionally, extra syllables make the reading bumpier than Archambault’s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (with Bill Martin Jr.), but the refrain is supremely satisfying; expect listeners to parade around for days chanting, “Everybody rock! Around the room! / Boom Chicka Rock, Chicka Rock, Chicka Boom!” Jazzy. (Picture book. 3-6)
