cover image Tom's Tail

Tom's Tail

Arlene Dubanevich. Viking Children's Books, $13.95 (320pp) ISBN 978-0-670-83021-3

Old Tom has kept the house free of mice for many a year and he is tired. The old cat languishes about the house, the aroma of catnip clinging to his fur, completely devoid of feline curiosity. ``In spring Tom hissed at the thought of a mouse . . . . By fall things were mousy all over the house.'' At first the invading contingent is a smallish hoard but soon the house is overrun. Rude mice taunt the seemingly comatose kitty just inches from his nose. Even jeers of ``Yo . . . Furball,'' and ``Your mother's a mouseketeer,'' fail to get poor Tom's attention. Still, every creature has a breaking point; when the mice pounce on Tom's tail they experience the full force of his wrath. Utilizing vibrant, almost tropical colors, Dubanevich's cartoon illustrations exhibit plentiful, playful fun, much as in her Pigs in Hiding . The simple, rhymed text contains sufficient slapstick humor to keep older picture book readers as amused as the younger ones. Ages 3-8. (Sept.)