Thelonious Mouse

K-Gr 3—Thelonious Mouse is full of energy, enthusiasm, and daring, attributes that manifest themselves in razzy, jazzy, snazzy onomatopoeic and rhyming phrases that he sings everywhere he goes. He loves to swish his tail as he taunts the resident cat: "Swish-cheese…Swish-cheese," "Swish-a-whisker…Swish-a-whisker." Thelonious drives his family nuts with all the near misses he has with Fat Cat, but the mouse persists and eventually figures out a way to get the feline to bop to the beat as well. Wilsdorf's playful, colorful, and detailed illustrations express the energy Thelonious exudes from one page to the next. This picture book will be a challenge for anyone who tries to read it aloud cold. Getting the beat and the tongue-twisting phrases just right takes some practice, but the outcome is well worth the effort. A "bouncy mousy whip-whopping nonstop bebop!"—Maggie Chase, Boise State University, ID