MOUSE IN THE HOUSE

An almost wordless story, with no narration but with speech balloons that rhyme--viz: ""Mouse, Mouse!"" ""In the house!"" ""Spoon!"" ""Broom!"" ""Around the room!"" It is young Tess and Baby who first spot the mouse, but the parents who make fools of themselves--and a shambles of the parlor--chasing it around. The cat and dog get into the act before Tess calls a halt, sets a box trap, and next morning lets the trapped mouse go free outdoors. There's enough flow to the uproar to keep pre-readers turning the pages, and Schermer's ending is an obvious ploy to please the young; unfortunately, her harshly colored pictures of a doll-like, old-fashioned family are just as obvious.