Mouse Is Small

Graduated pages reveal an ever-larger cast of animals in this lightly mischievous introduction to comparative sizes. Murphy starts with a small mouse, using ellipses to bring a whiff of tension to each page turn: “Mouse is small, and... Tortoise is big, but... Pelican is bigger.” Larger animals follow (“I’m the biggest of all,” crows Elephant), but a tiny blue spider sends all of them running in fright in the closing scene (“Hee, hee, hee,” it giggles). Murphy outlines the animals in thick, smudgy ink, and paints the creatures and the backgrounds in bright, eye-catching colors. A nifty introduction to animals and their sizes—and it’ll prompt giggles, too. Up to age 3. (Aug.)