HORACE AND MORRIS BUT MOSTLY DOLORES

An auspicious debut for illustrator Walrod, whose hilarious characterizations of three mice friends enliven Howe’s jocular plot that pokes fun at boys-only and girls-only clubs. Not since Kevin Henkes’s Lilly, Wilson, and Chester (Chester’s Way, 1988) has there been such a tireless, adventuresome trio. They sail pirate ships in their newspaper hats and fly a Swiss cheese flag on an alien planet. Then one day, the three happen upon a “boys only” clubhouse full of sword-fighting, sling-shotting rowdies, and Dolores is excluded. She finds her own all-girls club, The Cheese Puffs, but soon discovers it’s boring making cheese sculptures all day and longs to build a fort (a Roque-fort, as it happens). Cheese puns abound as Dolores finds a new friend in Chloris, and, joined by Boris, the fearless five start The Frisky Whisker Club with a sign announcing that everyone is welcome. The message is no secret, but getting there is a barrel of fun, thanks to snap-happy acrylic and collage art with its three mouse gallivants and their gleefully expressive faces. (Picture book. 4-8)