TESSA’S TIP-TAPPING TOES

Crimi (Don’t Need Friends, not reviewed, etc.) and Carrington (Sometimes I Feel Like a Stormcloud, not reviewed, etc.) team up for a humorous tale of a tap-dancing mouse and a singing cat who are more interested in their particular talents than in the traditional game of cat-and-mouse. Tessa the mouse is warned by her mother to stop tapping and twirling and to start scurrying quietly like a proper mouse. Oscar the cat is warned by his owner, Mrs. Trimboni, to start chasing the mice and to stop “crooning or caterwauling” because he bothers the neighbors. Both creatures go on with the show in another stay-true-to-yourself story that ends in a toe-tapping jam-fest with the mouse family, the cat, and Mrs. Trimboni all singing and kicking up their heels. Crimi uses expressive, rollicking language to describe the dancing and singing: “the skitter-scamper of little mice feet,” “a rowdy, riotous tune,” and “an all-out rock-’n’-roll, boogie-woogie, hip-hop, two-step combo.” Carrington’s large, crayon-bright paintings with varying perspectives are complemented by an oversized format with lots of double-page spreads. She has a flair for the hilarious touch, such as Tessa’s bottle-cap tap shoes and Oscar’s broomstick microphone. Although the storyline isn’t exceptional, this will fit well into lots of thematic story hours (mice, cats, dancing, singing, or follow-your-heart). (Picture book. 4-7)