LITTLE MOUSE GETS READY
by Jeff Smith and illustrated by Jeff Smith
Move over, Froggy; Little Mouse is here to show the picture-book set how to get dressed. It’s time to go to the barn; Little Mouse is excited, but first he must get ready. “Underpants are EASY to put on… / Just be sure to get your tail in the tail hole!” Socks, pants, boots and shirt with difficult buttons follow. Through it all, Little Mouse talks about all the fun things to do in the barn, like eating seeds and oats from the ground and swimming in the cow’s water. Little Mouse is so proud of having dressed himself…until Mama comes back to ask what he’s doing. She looks him over and says, “Well…mice don’t wear clothes!” That literally knocks Little Mouse’s socks (and everything else) off. With his first book for the very young, Smith, creator of the beloved and award-winning BONE graphic novels, adds another strong entry into Toon Book’s fledgling series of hybrid comics/early readers. The big friendly panels in autumn pastels and the silly twist ending will have emergent readers going straight back to the first page over and over. (Graphic early reader. 3-6)