K-Gr 1 Macaroni and Cheese may be best friends, but the two street cats couldn't be more different in their likes and dislikes. A day in his paw prints reveals that Macaroni will eat anything and simply loves "bouncing, pouncing, flipping." Puzzled, he levels with his friend"I like to flip and skip and sing, but Cheese, you don't like anything." Quiet and fastidious Cheese truthfully replies, "The only thing I like to do is sit here quietly with you." As an errant gust of wind steals Mac's very blue and very flat hat, Cheese proves he's more than a do-nothing grump in order to get it back. This book is a Level 1 addition to the series. Correspondingly, the simple sentences with ample white space suit the brief snippets of rhyming dialogue between the two characters, and brightly colored watercolor illustrations of the feline alley friends reveal expressions ranging from Mac's sheer glee to Cheese's exasperated disgust. Simplicity of text, action illustrated to lead readers in turning the page, and a satisfying conclusion makes this easy reader a solid selection for all libraries. Mary Elam, Learning Media Services Plano ISD, TX

Cheese, a scrawny, fussy, sedentary cat, can't be bothered to chase a mouse, while Macaroni is a cheerful, active, rotund feline who enjoys a good chase, not to mention singing, jumping, playing, bouncing, pouncing, flipping, and skipping rope. The two cats have little in common but affection for each other; that they have that in spades, as Cheese proves by springing up to retrieve Mac's hat when the wind blows it away. With short sentences and words, this addition to the venerable I Can Read series falls near the easier end of the beginning-reader scale. Even the name Macaroni is quickly shortened to Mac. Although the idea of two good friends with opposite characteristics is nothing new in books for beginning readers, this book offers a rhyming text with some nice turns of phrase as well as appealing, stylized illustrations.

Perky feline Macaroni asks his "grumpy grump" friend Cheese why he won't "pounce or bounce or jump." Cheese explains that he'd rather they sit quietly together, doing nothing. This enjoyable tale of friendship and differences, winningly illustrated, boasts a rhyming text reminiscent in both tone and content of classic I Can Read Book titles.