MOUSE LETTERS

Combining the simplicity of Harold and the Purple Crayon with the palette of Winnie the Pooh, Arnosky (Watching Desert Wildlife, 1998, etc.) cleverly demonstrates a mouse’s creativity in constructing the letters of the alphabet out of sticks. Mouse ponders, pushes and pulls, tugs and tweaks, coaxing sticks into one of the bends of a B or the curve of a C. Mishaps include a bump on the head after pinging off the letter G; mistakes result in the letter U, then V, as Mouse is resourcefully rescued from a fall. Those accustomed to Arnosky’s precise nature drawings won’t miss the tiny details here, conveyed with a minimum of strokes and a great deal of ingenuity. Wee wit is plentiful in this pint-sized pleaser and its companion, Mouse Numbers (0-395- 55006-8). (Picture book. 1-3)