Once Upon a Twice by Denise Doyen. il Barry Moser.
Random House: NY, 2009.

The young mouse Jam breaks the rules and so does the language in this warning against mousey spontaneity. There is much playing with words, sound and meaning, and reforming words in this rhyming verse. It isn't all play. Jam is moonstruck and exploring the lustrous night. He becomes an obstacle, is warned about the moon's tendency to entrance, runs off on his own, and is stalked.

Moser's dark world is one begging to be explored by an observant mouse. Moonlight shimmers, brilliant white flowers are irresistible, and predators are barely visible.

I tend to enjoy Moser's art, but I'd have to say in this book the language is the best part. There is some playful nonsense, but most of the word twisting has meaning. Enjoy the sound and texture, and then go back and read more slowly to appreciate the double and twisted meanings.

related-mice, animals, children's poems and poetry, nonsense verse, stories in rhyme, conduct of life, liveliness, cautionary tale
RL=2nd-4th, read aloud to toddlers-2nd, use as example for writing poetry

Previous Choices

December 2006 - Free Fall by David Wiesner
January 2007 - The Quiltmaker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau. il. Gail de Marcken
February 2007 - Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster by Debra Frasier
March 2007 - The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg
April 2007 - When Pigasso Met Mootisse by Nina Laden
May 2007 - Song of the Water Boatman by Joyce Sidman. il Beckie Prange
June 2007 - Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson. il Hudson Talbott
July 2007 - Math Curse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
August 2007 - Weslandia by Paul Fleischman. il Kevin Hawkes
September 2007 - The Old Man Who Loved Cheese by Garrison Keillor. il by Anne Wilsdorf
October 2007 - The Biggest Bear by Lynn Ward
November 2007 - The Mitten by Jan Brett
December 2007 - Burt Dow: Deep-Water Man by Robert McCloskey
January 2008 - Flotsam by David Wiesner
February 2008 - The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
March 2008 - Where in the Wild? by David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy photos by Dwight Kuhn
April 2008 - Walt Whitman: Words for America by Barbara Kerley. il Brian Selznick
May 2008 - Gone Wild by David McLimans.
June 2008 - Ten Rowdy Ravens by Susan Ewing. il Evon Zerbetz.
July 2008 - Butterfly Boy by Virginia Kroll. il Gerardo Suzan.
August 2008 - Madam President by Lane Smith.
September 2008 - Zen Ties by Jon Muth.
October 2008 - Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathman.
November 2008 - The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice N. Harrington. il Shelley Jackson.
December 2008 - Morris the Artist by Lore Segal. il Boris Kulikov.
January 2009 - Bees, Snails, & Peacock Tails by Betsy Franco. il Steve Jenkins
February 2009 - An Egg Is Quiet by Dianna Aston. il Sylvia Long
March 2009 - 365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental and Jo&eum;lle Jolivet
April 2009 - Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer by Robert Byrd
May 2009 - Mama Love by Kathy Mallat
June 2009 - Flower Garden by Eve Bunting. il Kathryn Hewitt
July 2009 - Wink! The Ninja Who Wanted To Be Noticed by J. C. Phillipps
August 2009 - Winter Lights: A Season in Poems & Quilts by Anna Grossnickle Hines
September 2009 - Max Found Two Sticks by Brian Pinkney
October 2009 - Pumpkin Circle by George Levenson. photos by Shmuel Thaler
November 2009 - A Perfect Season for Dreaming by Benjamin Alire Saenz. il Esau Andrade Valencia. trans Luis Humberto Crosthwaite
December 2009 - Under the Night Sky by Amy Lundebrek. il Anna Rich
January 2010 - Stitchin' and Pullin' by Patricia c. McKissack. il Cozbi A. Cabrera