MOUSEKIN FINDS A FRIEND

Mousekin's friend (another mouse, of course) appears at the end, after Mousekin has mistaken a titmouse for a real mouse, searched among the foxglove only to come upon a fox-finch and almost forgotten ""that a real live fox might be mouse-hunting too,"" gone searching for mouse-ear only to realize that it means forget-me-not also, chased after a mouse's tail (or was it mousetail growing near the log?), and run away from a weasel at the warning, ""Mouse-hound!"" The extended word-play substitutes for a story; sometimes it is based on a premise of physical resemblance, sometimes it is based on simple exploitation of an etymological relationship. We found the device unconvincing, the illustrations disappointing--still delicate, not as imaginative as heretofore, rather monotonous.