Little Mouse and the Big Cupcake
PreS-Gr 1–A picture book about the benefits of sharing an indulgence. Little Mouse finds a giant chocolate-chip, raspberry-cream cupcake, but it's too big for him to carry. He enlists the help of a few of his sweet-toothed friends, each of whom asks for a taste. Bird takes a nibble from the top, while Frog, Mole, Snail, Chipmunk, and Possum sink their paws into overflowing amounts of cake and icing. After slurping and chomping down their share, the friends gather around to peek inside at what appears to be an empty cupcake liner. Readers will be surprised to discover what is left and where it goes. Children will like the predictable rhythm, the rhyme on the last page, and the sound effects they are prompted to make throughout the book. Watercolor, pencil, and graphite ink illustrations and large brown text appear against a soft white background. The cheerfulness of this story extends to the jacket flap and endpapers. Sure to be a storytime favorite.–Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada. (c) Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.