Even a Mouse.... Such a Small Mouse by Alice Schertle

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MEADOW, UNDER A CLUMP OF DANDELIONS,
WAY DOWN DEEP IN THE HOLE
LIVES A MOUSE.
SUCH A LITTLE MOUSE
WITH HIS SMART GRAY COAT,
WITH HIS EARS PINK AS PETALS,
WITH THREE TWITCHETY WHISKERS ON EACH SIDE OF HIS NOSE.

And such a providential mouse he is, too. Every morning of spring he pokes his nose out and scurries off to gather seeds and fresh greens--unfurling ferns and clover blossoms, dodging but greeting the busy bees.

Summer finds him selecting fresh watercress and chatting with a toad sheltering from the sun under a flower's broad leaves. He gathers small twigs for the beavers' new dam, and at sunset home he goes home with his cress and more seeds to stock his storeroom down deep underground.

Autumn comes. The little mouse scoots out and about beneath the falling leaves.

"RUSTLE, RUSTLE, RUSTLE" GO THE LEAVES.

HE WATCHES THE GEESE OVERHEAD.
"HONK! HONK! HONK!" THEY CRY.
"WINTER IS COMING!"

And the thrifty little mouse hauls home dozens of fat acorns to tuck away in his pantry. His cozy hole awaits, with a downy bed for sleeping, well-stocked larders, and a well-appointed kitchen, all below the frost line.

A thoughtful provider, this is a foresightful little mouse who can feast in fine form and sleep snugly through stormy, snowy nights.

The celebrated Alice Schertle's latest, Such a Little Mouse, (Scholastic Press, 2015) is a story which takes time to smell the roses, so to speak, to savor the seasons and share their bounty with the neighbors out in the wide world of the meadow.

Artist Stephanie Yue's gentle, old-fashioned pencil and watercolor illustrations catch the sweetness of each season, even winter, as Mouse simmers his dried watercress-and-seed soup, reading and resting up for the next growing season. Children will warm to author Schertle's gently repetitive narration and Yue's soft, detailed pictures, from the sun-shy toad in his hideout to Mouse's cozy kitchen with alphabet-block counters and a tiny tea-light candle's yellow illumination. Among the many books about the joys of the seasons, this one is definitely a standout.