MISS MOUSE’S DAY

In a tell-all exposé, Miss Mouse describes a typical day in her life with her toddler companion. Ormerod focuses on the daily activities familiar to young children: eating, painting, dressing up, building sandcastles, and sliding. Each activity leaves its mark, quite literally, upon Miss Mouse, who appears increasingly rumpled as the day’s adventures unfold, culminating in a swan-like dive into a giant mud puddle. Rescued by nightfall and clean again, Miss Mouse snuggles into bed, where her day concludes as it began—“with a cuddle.” Ormerod deftly captures the busyness that’s indigenous to toddlerhood as Miss Mouse’s companion eagerly flits from one activity to the next. Using a combination of short sentences, exclamations, and fervent utterances, the narrative voice perfectly captures what one would imagine to be the thought processes of a faithful stuffed companion. Accompanying the text are framed illustrations of varying sizes; with several appearing on each page, they create the sensation that the reader is perusing a series of movie stills. The exuberant illustrations adroitly mirror the sentiments of the text and eloquently expand upon the brevity of the prose. Gaily colored pages, featuring high-interest subjects, are ideal for young toddlers. However, for the full effect, this is best shared one-on-one so little ones can spend their time poring over the illustrations. (Picture book. 2-5)