THE MOUSE BUFFET https://ift.tt/hcXowQj

Ferreri’s rhyming text introduces readers to a bevy of mice who, in Bowers’ cartoon illustrations, look like they could be kin to Hanna-Barbera’s Jerry. They find a delectable spread of Yuletide goodies set out on a festive table, with nary a human in sight. The mice declare it a “mouse buffet” and, deciding that this must be their “lucky day,” tuck in with relish. “Pies and pastries! Where to start? / Let’s dig into this apple tart! / Dip the ladle. Slurp the punch. / Candy canes! Crunchity crunch.” While the singsong cadence falters a bit, the slapstick humor in the pictures will support readers’ engagement when the mice’s exuberant enjoyment of a gingerbread house and a bunch of grapes causes food items to fall from the table and disturb a resting cat. In a true Christmas miracle, however, the rodents don’t become a “mouse buffet” for the cat. Though our heroes attempt to make a grand escape by tunneling through a sumptuous-looking cake (and then blocking the hole with a gingerbread man), as it turns out, they have nothing to fear. “Merry Christmas!” cries the benevolent marmalade tom, to whom the mice reply, “Let’s all share!”

from Kirkus Reviews https://ift.tt/nP2bqWY