Follow the Bouncing Ball! OOPS POUNCE QUICK RUN! by Mike Twohy

ASLEEP.

A mouse snoozes safely in his cozy mouse hole.

What could happen, right?

But just outside that hole a dog is playing with his ball, which, (what are the odds?) bounces and rolls right through that mouse hole and lands in the lap of the no-longer snoozing, and now grumpy rodent. He kicks that ball back.

CATCH!

The DOG is intrigued and poke his nose right into the mouse hole for an investigatory sniff. He put one EYE to the hole for a peep inside. Aha! He shoves a FOOT through the hole. GRRR!

HELP! Mouse makes a run for it, right through Dog's legs, and Dog pursues the mouse through the kitchen and living room, where rugs scatter and a lamp falls.

Now where is that miserable mouse? He seems to be Nowhere! OOPS! What's that sticking out from under the drapes? A mouse tail? Time for a pounce!

The game is afoot!

It's a classic chase, a la Tom and Jerry cartoons, in Mike Twohy's 2017 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award-winning Oops, Pounce, Quick, Run!: An Alphabet Caper (Balzer and Bray), except that this cat and mouse game is a dog and mouse game and it occurs, educationally, in alphabetical order. But just as Jerry is never in real danger from Tom, this mouse also makes the right move, wrapping up the dog's beloved ball in gift wrap, and concluding amiably, with a doggy tail wag, shared XOXOs, and some ZZZZzzzs as Mouse resumes his nap along with Dog.

Author-illustrator Twohy's pen and marker artwork captures the rollicking frolic of the chase in true comic style, while youngsters get an unexpected romp through the alphabet as well. Good for tots just learning to recognize their letters and their sounds, and good for beginning readers who relish an amusing alphabet adventure in just twenty-six words, this one also has plenty of giggles built in for storytime. For read-alouds, pair this one with Mary Sullivan's equally enjoyable 2014 Geisel Award-winning Ball for a bouncy twofer read!