Mice make trouble

The magical colored pencils come in a box that has a very clear warning: "Do not draw dangerous or mischievous animals".

But Henry can't read yet. Before anyone can stop him, he draws six mice that are slightly misshapen, along with a hedgehog. And then they come to life, reaping havoc in the playroom.

How Henry draws himself into -- and out of -- this artistic pickle makes for a riotously illustrated and drolly told adventure in creativity.

Bloom (Wolf!, 1999) takes a sprightly look at the lure of the forbidden when a little boy appropriates his sister's magic colored pencils. Henry can't read the warning on the box (``Do not draw dangerous or mischievous animals''), but he's quick to see the pencils' magic. When the little red car he draws on the walls of his room pops off to zoom around, he knows he's too big to ride it, but a mouse could. He draws six mice, none of them quite right, so he tries to erase them and draws a hedgehog instead. All of the drawings come to life. ``Not very civilized,'' the mice soon spoil the games, while the hedgehog, who ``knew how to behave,'' finds the pencils and draws a glass of soda, a book, and a chair to read it in. Seeing this, the mice grab the pencils and draw toys in overabundance, then butterflies, bees, bugs, and earthworms. The situation promises to deteriorate further until Henry has an idea that's at once provocative, hilarious, and effective: ``He drew a teacher.'' The ``serious and respectable mouse-lady, with rimmed glasses'' not only gently corrals the mischievous mice, but also enlists them in clean-up. Then she lines them up and takes them into the mousehole from which Henry can sometimes still hear giggling. This zany take on Pandora thus comes down on the side of law and order as well as imagination. Biet's watercolors start as mere sketches, build to half-pages, and then fill double-paged spreads as Henry becomes fully engaged with the mice. Varying perspectives and use of framing add appeal. (Picture book. 4-7)-- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.