Knapman-s tale of comeuppance is as tightly constructed as a fable from Aesop, and the ending is just as inevitable. It starts with a bang: -Here-s Jake, the fastest mouse in the world. Oh, no-he-s gone! Quick! After him!- Old Tom Cat, painted by Ciraolo (The Lines on Nana-s Face) with sinuous curves and a cruel smirk, swipes at Jake, but the mouse is too fast. He outruns other predators, too: -I was too fast for Old Tom Cat, and I-ll be too fast for you,- Jake tells the fox as he hustles away like a sprinter. He-s too fast for the wolf and the bear, and he taunts them all. -I-m faster than lightning!- he crows, dancing around. When Jake returns to where he started, Old Tom Cat has learned a thing or two. -I-m so weak,- the cat says. -Come closer.- While arrogant Jake isn-t the most likeable mouse in the world, readers who admire raw swagger will hope he escapes once more. He doesn-t, but Ciraolo-s sunny woodland paintings and Knapman-s engaging storyteller-s voice offer compensation. Ages 2-5. (Nov.)

PreS-Gr 3 Jake, a smug, grinning rodent, is the self-proclaimed "fastest mouse in the world!" Indeed, he seems to be too quick for Old Tom Cat, who "ties himself in knots trying to catch" the boastful critter. Escaping Tom, Jake runs out into the fields and forest, meeting a fox, a wolf, and a bear, and taunting each one that he was "too fast for Old Tom Cat, and [he'll] be too fast" for them, too. His confidence inflated further, Jake runs around the world and returns to where he started to brag about his speediness. This time, however, the crafty cat has a different strategy in mind. Pretending to be weak with hunger, he says "Come a little closer" until the foolish mouse gets too close for the last time. Ciracolo's cheerful pencil and watercolor illustrations perfectly convey Jake's energetic antics and his bravado, their comical expressiveness offsetting Jake's somewhat grim demise. VERDICT Reminiscent of "The Gingerbread Man" or the Russian Kolobok folktales, a sprightly yarn with a moral about the danger of arrogance. Best shared one-on-one or in a small group setting. Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY