Bubble and Squeak: The Great Cheese Hunt

Taking their name from a common British dish, Bubble, a spotted hound with a big schnozz, and his friend Squeak, a mouse with a similarly dominant sniffer, awake to find their owners gone and—horrors—no cheese in the fridge. They spend the day on daft cheese-finding schemes, then stay up all night trying to launch Squeak toward the round piece of cheese they discover up in the sky. Fowkes's spreads hit a nice rhythm, the duo's plan on the left, the consequences on the right (they set up a trap baited with crackers when they go “hunting for cheese,” but “cheese, they discovered, cannot be tempted by crackers”), and a closeup of Squeak set in the lower right corner (“Squeak can be tempted by crackers, however. Yum!”). Fortunately, the new cheese store in town has a surprise for the two. Running gags supply extra giggles; Bubble's sandbox toy makes a tiny Taj Mahal, and witty clues point to the arrival of the cheese shop. Fowkes's storytelling voice is amiable, and the die-cut bite out of the book's upper corner adds a distinctive touch. Ages 2–5. (Dec.)