GOOD MOUSEKEEPING

Whimsical verse marries curious art in a second collaboration by Lewis and Desimini (Doodle Dandies, 1998). A succession of animals including a flamingo, a dragon, a cowbird, and a pair of hippos suggest their abodes of choice in playful verses replete with puns and internal rhymes. “ ‘Here’s what to do: Read slowly, chew / Delicious books, all ages,’ ” / The Bookworm said, “ ‘but make your bed / With sheets of picture pages.’ ” Desimini’s collages, constructed by scanning images of all kinds of fabrics, textures, and pictures, will inspire scrutiny to detect their sources. An endnote reveals some secrets (the fact that the dragon’s scaly tail and shingled tower are made from Popsicle sticks, for example), while other image sources (coconuts, feathers, and a pincushion for the porcupine’s house) are more easily observed. Sly details abound. A cowbird’s home is a “Branch/Ranch,” complete with miniature black and white cows, while the polar bear’s ice house with “central air” contains fish within its frozen walls. Although some of the verses are uninspired (“into” rhyming with “into”), others delight, such as, “Perfectly porpoisely, / Porpoises purposely / Surf through the windows and / Leap through the door.” (Picture book/poetry. 6-8)