THE MOUSE WAS OUT AT RECESS

A dog wags his tail in the paint and voilà, Donny has a work of art; a wad of bubble gum causes a hysterical disaster; and someone lets the mouse out of its cage. “The answers don’t always go with the questions,” but there’s a ton of yucky stuff like Jessica’s smelly socks, escaping frogs devouring flies, and some gross food at lunch. This is a rollicking classroom and Harrison’s easy, rhythmic verses are fun. The rhymes are simple and obvious, but accessible to young readers. Fernandes’s cartoon illustrations are bright and lively and well suited to the material. Although there is not much that’s original or unique in either the text or the illustrations, it’s amusing and entertaining. (Poetry. 6-10)