MONKEY-HOUSE MOUSE AND THE STORYTIME ZOO

In Tatchell’s picture book, a storytelling mouse entertains her zoo-dwelling friends—until she loses her voice.

Under the floorboards in a zoo’s monkey enclosure lives a mouse who earns her meals by regaling other animals with her tales and accompanying drawings. Each friend receives a personalized story (“The zebras begged for barn yard time, / with pigs and horses too. / They liked it when the cows got loose / and all the chickens flew”), but her favorite companion is a baby monkey who, like the other animals, lives vicariously through the mouse’s stories of “the world beyond the zoo.” One day, Mouse catches a cold, which causes her to lose her voice and go on hiatus from storytelling. The zoo residents understand, but they soon struggle with boredom and must invent a new tradition to fill the gap. This sweet story about the power of friendship is Tatchell’s fifth picture book and recalls such classic zoo-themed works as Philip C. Stead’s A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2010). Perko’s soft-edged full-color illustrations give characters big expressions and a clear sense of community, showing them climbing over each other or sitting together whenever possible. Tatchell’s rhyming narration, continued in Mouse’s storytelling, likewise builds a strong sense of unity.

A heartwarming tale of friendship and mutual support for young animal-lovers.