cover image Is It Big or Is It Little?

Is It Big or Is It Little?

Claudia Rueda. Eerdmans, $14 (26p) ISBN 978-0-8028-5423-0

Rueda cleverly demonstrates the idea of relativity in this smart, pared-down picture book. “Is it big?” asks the opening page, as a small black mouse stares up at an orange ball of yarn. “Or is it little?” asks the next page, as a black cat appears out of nowhere, dwarfing mouse and yarn, and sending the critter scurrying. Crisp, graphic images in black, white, gray, and orange trace this literal game of cat and mouse, as a “long” dash for the mouse is shown to be a “short” leap for the cat, and the “scary” feline able to be “scared” by an even bigger threat. Ages 3–6. (July)