THE MOUSE WHO OWNED THE SUN

The mouse is lucky indeed: it's pure coincidence that, at each critical juncture, the sun does exactly what he tells it. Daily, the mouse tells the sun to go down, with unfailing results; when he sets out to explore, and the king's troops gallop across his way, he halts them in high dudgeon—if he were hurt, who would tell the sun to come up? After he orders the sun to hide its face and a cloud blows across it, the Captain takes him to the King, who suggests that the mouse tell the sun to set at midday (the mouse explains why this isn't a good idea) and then offers to buy it. Warning the King about how important it is to wake the sun early, the mouse takes a map in trade and goes contentedly home. Derby's well-told first has an engaging folkloric flavor. The gentle, understated humor of Henstra's pen and watercolor illustrations is nicely in tune with the rather long, tongue-in-cheek story; lively dialogue makes this an especially good choice for sharing aloud. (Picture book. 5-8)