As Quiet As A Mouse

As a parade of noisy animals troops past a little boy, he imitates their distinctive sounds, in a lively, say-aloud, action rhyme.

A companion to A Fox Got My Socks (1993) and The Sheep Made a Leap (p. 148). Again, a toddler announces and imitates the actions of animal friends, as described in rhymed couplets (``A worm gave a wiggle/and started to giggle,'' or, ``The chimp said, `I'm champ,'/and started to stamp''). The instructions for small listeners' participation (``Stamp your feet'') are almost superfluous, but they do add another language-building feature to a fine list that also includes the animals' names and the words for the pantomimed actions and mimicked sounds. A full-ensemble finale makes a satisfying wrap-up, and endpaper reenactments by the toddler provide a chance to recall the various verbs. Again, Offen's characters--both the costumed animals and the winsome toddler--are particularly bright and ingenuous. (Picture book. 1-6) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.