NOODLE'S KNITTING

Country mouse becomes crackerjack knitter. Having often watched the farmer's wife knitting contentedly, Noodle the mouse longs to knit. The woman discards a ball of lavender yarn—"It's not the right color!"—and Noodle's dream comes true. She carries the wool outside to show the other animals. Hedgie the porcupine donates two of her prickles, which serve as perfect needles. In no time, Noodle has knitted a long piece, walking all the while and oblivious to her surroundings—so oblivious that she steps on frog's head, and when the knitted wool gets snagged on a weed it stretches like elastic and sends Noodles airborne. Quick-thinking Rosie the squirrel fills her wheelbarrow with leaves for a soft landing. Back home, Noodle knits all night, fashioning a warm winter nest for herself and all her grateful friends. It's pretty and sweet enough, but one has to wonder whether the soft-to-touch wool that's embossed on every page is what's driving this book. Gimmick aside, there's not much there. (Picture book. 3-6)