Paper Mice

PreS-Gr 1–With a snip and clip, two paper mice come into being. After adding “bright eyes,” “tiny noses,” and “elegant whiskers,” they are given names. The white one is named Ralph and the blue one, Della. When they are finished “they were placed between the pages of two books” and when night comes, out they go. “They were only paper mice, but even they knew that night is a mouse’s day, and time to roam free of fright.” Not aware of each other, they set off to explore. The delightful mixed-media illustrations have a folk-art feel, capturing the nighttime adventure in shades of deep blue, purple, and dark red. Some things are scary, and some are not. They creep and they scamper, until Della finds a doll house just her size, and Ralph gets into trouble and falls in a dish full of water. Trying to dry in front of the fire is when they finally meet. And just in time, because Ralph’s tail was catching on fire. An adventure shared makes an outing better as they soon discover. Before night becomes day, the two tired mice “slipped back between the pages of their books, and fell asleep.”