Hello, Door

A wily, larcenous fox with the suave moves of Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief embarks on a caper. Slipping through the open window of an elegant townhouse, he gives a jaunty greeting to every room and potential piece of plunder. “Hello, sofa. Hello, chairs,” he says, swinging through the living room on a chandelier. “Hello, mirror. Hello, stairs,” he adds, glimpsing his reflection as he adds silverware to his haul. After hitting the jackpot—a cache of jewelry that he can’t resist trying on—he attempts to make an equally carefree exit (“Bye-bye, bedroom. Bye-bye, stairs”) and comes face-to-face with the house’s inhabitants: the Three Bears. The fox’s unceremonious ejection proves that crime doesn’t pay, but there’s no doubt that incorrigibility has a certain charisma. Coburn (who worked with Heim on Love You Too) gives her bushy-tailed hero suitably balletic moves, putting him to work in stylish interiors rendered in dusky pinks and soft Wedgwood blue. Heim’s snappy, saucy text should bring out the lovable rogue in anyone who reads it aloud. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)