Cat and Mouse Story. How to Catch a Mouse by Philippa Leathers

THIS IS CLEMMIE. CLEMMIE IS A BRAVE, FEARSOME MOUSE CATCHER.

SHE IS EXCELLENT AT STALKING AND CHASING--SHE'S PATIENT AND ALERT.

All good qualities for an apprentice mouser, certainly. However, Clemmie has never actually seen a mouse, which she takes as an affirmation of her mouse-deterring powers. Still, to be thorough, she consults a book, How to Spot A Mouse.

A MOUSE HAS A LONG PINK TALE.

Oblivious to the gray mouse readomg over her shoulder, Clemmie looks about for something long, pink, and tail-like Ah, there!!

As Mouse struts by with a fluffy purple yarn bunny tail tied around his middle, the kitty spots something long and pink dangling from the table. Pounce!

OOPS! A big garden hat with long chin strings fall over her. The mouse snickers.

Clemmie looks for something with round ears. Oblivious of Mouse with a pink sock over his ears, she spots something suspicious. There, under the bed! Ooops. A toy panda. Rats!

Mice have wiggly black whiskers! What's that on the shelf in the bathroom? Crash!

Ick! A long-legged spider! Run away! Run away!

Clemmie hears some crinkly noises from the kitchen. A noshing mouse messing with the family's crackers? Pounce! Clemmie's got nothing in her paws, while a giggling mouse in fake nose and glasses slips away from the scene with a snack.

Aha! Two can play at that game. Clemmie, clad in a sleuth-ish trenchcoat and fedora conceals herself among the hanging jackets on the coat rack. And what is that she sees walking confidently by? A mouse? At last a positive visual ID!

And the chase is on, in Philippa Leathers' How to Catch a Mouse (Candlewick Press, 2015). Leathers' Clemmie is about the cutest mouse-catcher kitty ever, but her prey has more disguises than Sherlock, all quite easy to see through for the preschoolers who will have plenty of fun spotting Clemmie's equally appealing Mouse on every page. School Library Journal says, "A sweetly funny tale for storytimes or one-on-one read-alouds."