cover image A Surprise for Tiny Mouse

A Surprise for Tiny Mouse

Petr Horacek. Candlewick, $8.99 (16p) ISBN 978-0-7636-7967-5

Die-cut pages and an interactive turn-wheel enliven the quietly evocative story of a gray mouse. Summer becomes autumn becomes winter as the pages flip, and Tiny Mouse makes the most of each season: “Tiny Mouse loves nibbling wheat in the sunshine. She likes to watch the crackly leaves blow in the wind.” When spring rain showers arrive, Tiny Mouse dives through a round die-cut hole, and the final spread shows her peeking out from her grassy burrow; turning a wheel embedded in the back cover allows readers to make a rainbow emerge as the sun returns. It’s a simple, direct, and pleasing through-the-seasons adventure. Up to age 3. (Sept.)