How Many Mice?

Garland (the Miss Smith series) invites readers to accompany 10 hungry rodents on a counting, adding and subtracting adventure that's packed with peril. On every spread, a concise sentence advances the narrative (""as the mice crossed the meadow, three greedy crows swooped down and stole four of their cherries""), while smaller, more playful type poses a more direct math question (""How many cherries do the mice have now?""). The mice brave some vividly portrayed predators (a crow, a fish, a fox and owl) as well as a potential drowning, but they finally make it home safe and sound for a good nosh. Garland opts not to develop individual personalities for his mice, but they have a compelling presence nonetheless, thanks to their black, piercing eyes and cute, furry bodies (which appear to have been created digitally from photographs of terrycloth). His environments are spectacular: lush colors and dramatic contrasts in scale underscore the high stakes nature of the quest and the puny protagonists' vulnerability. Some children might find the mice's nemeses a bit too menacing (the owl in particular has alarming talons and furious yellow eyes), but a simple turn of the page will quickly assure them that everything turns out well. Ages 4-up.