IF I WERE A MOUSE

A little boy narrates this rhyming story as he imagines what it would be like to be different animals. He imagines himself as a mouse, owl, squirrel, bird and cat, with the cat leading the narrative back to the boy in his bedroom, getting ready for bed. The concluding lines, the only religious content in the book, refer to God as “father, creator and friend,” thanking him for making the child who he is. The verse—just mundane rhymes about the way the animals move or where they live—has an old-fashioned, sing-song quality and isn’t particularly interesting or creative. Soft-focus illustrations show traditional scenes of homes and a farm; there's some added interest for sharp-eyed young readers with a repeating device of a knitted scarf on each animal and blue-striped shirts on the boy and several animals. (The rusty-red squirrel in a striped shirt with 17 seeds hidden in his cheeks seems ready to run right off the page and find a more exciting story to star in.) The final illustration in the little boy’s room includes toys, a lamp and curtains echoing the other characters and their homes. The religious content in the last spread seems tacked on to fit this story into a particular slot rather than any meaningful effort to connect children with God. (Picture book/religion. 3-6)