A Mouse Family Christmas

A mouse family spreads holiday cheer in Underwood’s dual domestic tale, which centers creaturely empathy. As the rodents trim a tree-shaped bough in an attic appointed with mouse-size furnishings, one struggles to feel “Christmas spirit.” Looking for inspiration, the protagonist ventures to see the “glorious” decorated fir downstairs, an outing that takes a suspenseful turn when the critter is spotted by the home’s pale-skinned human inhabitant, alone for the holiday due to a snowstorm (“I ought to put you outside.... But it’s so cold, and your little family would miss you”). When the intrepid mouse returns home, describing the kindness shown and the still-bare tree below, the whiskered family shows their appreciation with a festive interspecies gesture. The clean lines and thoughtful details of Hong’s careful gouache and colored pencil illustrations—from the mice’s jaunty outfits to their embrace of found-object decor—lend the text a crisp believability. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)