In singsong rhyme, Moore tells the story of an animal trio dog, cat, and mouse o can't speak. A helpful owl sends them into the woods to find an old woman living in a tumbledown house who should know a spell to fix them up. When they find the lady r scribbly, cotton-candy-blue hair piled on her head above big round glasses e is happy to help. Her first spell brings down thunder and rain as well as voices for the mute creatures. Unfortunately, the wrong voices: the cat clucks, the dog quacks, and the mouse cries cock-a-doodle-doo. "Whoops!" says the old lady, who returns to her book for a better spell. The next flash and crash bring similar, erroneous results. It takes four tries in all, with each incantation more dramatic than the one before, and a final twist will tickle readers. Colors pop in the stylized mixed-media illustrations, which effectively incorporate the story's text. The book's rhythm and repetition, along with its many animal sounds, make it an ideal read-aloud.

PreS-Gr 1 With bouncing meter that at first plays off the structure of a cumulative rhyme, a cat, a dog, and a mouse find themselves not knowing how to do their respective meows, woofs, and squeaks. Following an owl's advice, they visit an old lady in a tumbledown house that lies in the heart of a forest. The fun begins when the old lady, who is more mad scientist-looking than witchy, breaks out her spell book to try to fix the animals, only to have the cat clucking, the dog quacking, and the mouse crowing like a rooster. Subsequent attempts amp up the ruckus of thunder, lightning, and the tumbledown house spinning around, but the end product is the samemismatched animal sounds and a kooky "Whoops!" from the old lady. In contrast to the subdued neutral colors of the animals' introduction and the blue-gray woods, the spell casting is done against bright fuchsia, blue, green, and orange pages. Adding to the silliness is the old lady's hair color also changing with each try. There are numerous access points for interacting with an audience. VERDICT Be prepared for an active and boisterous read-aloud with animal noises, movement, and a funny twist at the end. Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library