DOES A MOUSE HAVE A HOUSE?

Yes, a mouse does have a house—and so do penguins and pandas and a host of other animals described by Miranda in this imaginative take on the habitat theme. A creative combination of lilting rhymes and collage illustrations is employed to good effect in this lively story. Some of the couplets truly sing (``The snaky, fangy moray eel/hides in places that conceal''), while others are a bit more clumsy (``A beaver's home/is a mud-and-stick dome''). But if the text occasionally disappoints, the illustrations are consistently delightful. Miranda's collages are a vibrant mix of color and texture—her crocodiles look like they've been rolled in green Corn Flakes; her hippos have a ceramic feel. A beautiful book, both to look at and to read aloud. (Picture book. 2-6)