Little Bitty Mousie by Jim Aylesworth

Tip tippy tippy tippy
Went her little mousie toes
Sniff sniffy sniffy sniffy
Went her little mousie nose

"In this outstanding alphabet rhyme, a wee, purple-frocked mouse goes "Tip-tip tippy tippy— through a lovingly detailed house, going „Sniff-sniff sniffy sniffy" all the way along. For her, this is a mouthwatering adventure as she licks B's butter, gets I's icing in her white fur and nibbles O's orange peel. Not without mishaps, she discovers that P for pepper just causes sneezes. She also explores V for vacuum and R for roses and delights at tasting the clever sugar-coated X atop the hot cross buns. All is fun and games until Z brings the mousie a round a corner and a close encounter with a furry member of the family. Hague's illustrations shine with sumptuous vividness. The delicate plays of light and bright colors bring a visually arresting blend of realism and fancy as the reader sees the giant world from the mouse's point of view. Additionally, the lilting verse and sing-song refrain make this a treasure of the genre." --Kirkus Reviews

"Aylesworth and Hague steamroll the alphabet-book competition with this rhyming adventure. Realistically drawn but purple-frocked Little Bitty Mousie explores a human home, from a bowl full of apples to the Zs of a snoring cat. The text stays on the right side of sweet, and storyhour audiences will connect with the quarterly refrain, "Tip-tip tippy tippy/Went her little mousie toes./Sniff-sniff sniffy sniffy/Went her little mousie nose." Hague's pencil illustrations, vibrantly colored in Photoshop, offer a three-dimensional effect that enhances the fantasy-meets-reality mood. Mousie's expressions range from bliss among the roses to slight distaste over pepper. The "lady's Lipstick" page is classic. The book is an ideal balance of the familiar with a few twists on the theme-and there's not a whisker out of place here." --SLJ