WHO TAUGHT THAT MOUSE TO WRITE

Littlefield presents a lighthearted set of rhyming poems for young readers about animals, birds, and insects.

Each work in this creative, humorous children’s book focuses on a particular creature. In the poem that inspired the book’s title, a mouse outsmarts a human who sets a trap; the rodent leaves a note thanking the human for lunch, leaving them befuddled about who taught the mouse to write. Readers learn the moral of the story of “Tortoise and Hare” in a poem that concludes, “a racing tortoise doesn’t need the higher gears / To beat a foe too slow to know the only way to win / Is to remember why you’re there as soon as you begin.” In “Robin,” the author analyzes the weighty role of a robin announcing spring—and wonders what would happen if the bird was late. The poet recommends a garbage-eating goat for messy homeowners in one poem and shaking out one’s shoes to check for scorpions in another. Other tales feature an octopus that struggles to control its eight arms, a hurried caterpillar confidently crossing the road, and a vulture defending its reputation by highlighting that it eats what others won’t—and cleans the desert, too. Coren’s black-and-white animal illustrations will increase engagement, but the art might have had more impact in full color. Over the course of the collection, Littlefield combines a whimsical tone with clever, creative anecdotes to spark curiosity in young readers. He also shares wry animal observations: “Cows DON’T ever look like they’re thinking a lot. / They seem quite contented with all that they’ve got” (“Cows”). Similarly, in “Leopard,” the speaker reassures readers that the titular creatures are just as they’re meant to be: “I hope all of us inclined to rearrange / Ourselves because we’re not content with what we are today / Can recognize that as we are we’re better than okay.”

A silly and amusing poetry collection that might have benefited from brighter art.