A Delicious Story

April 15, 2023
Sometimes a metafictional story just needs a little spice. A small, blue-tinted mouse enters from the right side of the page. On the left, against the blank background, sits a big gray mouse, who asks, "What are you doing here?!" "I'm looking for a story," responds the small mouse. The big mouse claims not to have seen one. But aren't they in a book? The confession comes several pages later: "I was hungry." The big mouse admits to having eaten the story that was supposed to be in the book. The small mouse is not happy. The larger rodent offers to replace the story but has trouble producing a new one under scrutiny and at one point amusingly disappears into the gutter as the smaller rodent waits with some impatience. Finally, the story that emerges is the one at hand: There was a story, but a big mouse ate it. The end? Fortunately, there's more. The small mouse wants a surprise ending, and happily, there's one in store. Saltzberg's mice are big-eyed, plump, and friendly looking, and his lively use of the plain page as stage, wall, and background is intriguing and entertaining. Children will giggle; many will be inspired to craft their own tales. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Rib-tickling for many beginning readers and writers. (Picture book. 3-7)

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April 10, 2023
A small blue mouse walks onto an opening page of this picture book looking to find the volume’s story. Instead, it discovers a larger gray mouse wearing a blissful expression. When pressed, the second mouse acknowledges that the book once housed a telling with pictures—even “a beginning, a middle, and an end”—and it eventually confesses to having eaten the tale. The story-consuming rodent offers to make amends, even though conjuring up a replacement puts on the pressure: “How do you expect me to make up a story while you watch?” Minimally detailed digital ink line drawings with soft washes of fill-in color appear against the blank background of the storyless pages, but Saltzberg (We Are Expecting You!) gets lots of mileage from his characters’ expressive argy-bargy. The big mouse eventually recycles the book’s opening incident into a new tale, and throws in a friendly green dragon as an added surprise, resulting in a light, cartooned meta-comedy combined with an object lesson in thinking on one’s feet. Ages 3–6. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary.

Starred review from June 1, 2023

PreS-Gr 2-In a fun book perfect for new readers, a small mouse is in search of a story when he finds a friend instead. Drawn in thick black lines of ink, a small mouse wanders into the right side of a spread and encounters a big mouse resting on the left. The big mouse admits there was a story there-a delicious one-but he ate it! As he tries to think of a story to share with the small mouse, he takes some time away from the page, hoping solitude will bring inspiration. When he finally begins to share a story, both the small mouse and the big mouse get a surprise ending. Clean, crisp pages show the mice together in front of a white background, with large, easy-to-read text placing emphasis on certain words and exclamations. As in Chris Raschka's Yo, Yes!, Saltzberg proves that friendship does not rely on word count. Readers will love looking in on the conversation, with the playful back-and-forth perfect for fans of Mo Willems. VERDICT A silly story that will see many re-reads and is ideal for reading aloud, this title should be a hit.-Selenia Paz

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