Mouse in a House: A Toy, Book, and Crafts Kit

This clever cardboard construction looks like a board book, but unfolds and becomes a four-room residence for the soft, sturdy, gray felt mouse which is packaged with it. Brightly colored lamps, rugs, dressers, a bed and even a piano are among the furnishings drawn onto the walls and floors of the perky pied-a-terre. Running along the outside edge of each room's floor is a spare, rhyming text describing the mouse's activities in each area. Included are six felt squares, which readers can use to make clothes for the mouse, and a booklet, which contains further apparel and decor hints. Boyd's simple, cheerful rooms provide a setting for hours of imaginative play. The ease with which the house can be set up and disassembled, along with its small size when folded, makes it a particularly appropriate choice for family trips and vacations. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)