SCAREDY MOUSE

Nibbles and Squeak embark on an adventure to retrieve some chocolate cake from the kitchen, but what are two little mice against the big, ginger cat, especially when Squeak is “a small mouse, a scared mouse, a stay-at-home mouse.” Even though Squeak is afraid, his rumbling stomach and Nibbles’s insistence convince him. With the end of a ball of string tied around his waist, Squeak—with his sister, Nibbles—begins his journey. Around each corner, Squeak spies an object that he is convinced is the ginger cat, ready to pounce, but each time Nibbles points out that it is just scarf, or a toy, a pillow, or the feather duster. Finally after Squeak has just about run himself ragged from fear, they spot the cake and in no time at all, they are whisker-deep in chocolate. After filling themselves, they begin to head home with a large slice of cake in tow, but suddenly there is the ginger cat. Just as it looks as if Nibbles and Squeak have had their last adventure, the ginger cat becomes so tangled in the string that Squeak has been trailing that he can’t move. Tied all in knots, the cat is not as scary and Squeak becomes a “bold-as-a-lion-mouse.” Expressive, comical illustrations add even more whimsy to this amusing tale. (Picture book. 3-7)