MOUSE'S BIRTHDAY Illustrated by Bruce Degan Putnams 1993 ISBN# 0-399-22189-1 Putnams hardcover ISBN# 0-399-22845-4 Putnams paperback

I was challenged by an editor to write a repetitive nursery rhyme. So I began it "Mouse's house is very small, very small, very small. Hardly any room at all for anyone but mouse." And then the editor turned the book down. So I turned around and sold it to my wonderful editor at Putnam, Refna Wilkin. She got Bruce Degan to do the bouncy, irrepressible pictures. There is a Big Book edition of the book and it was a Junior Library Guild book as well.

       The Putnam's paperback is still available.

What reviewers have said: "These prolific, versatile collaborators ( Dinosaur Dances ; the Commander Toad series) here offer a disarming tale, populated by a cast with all the zest of the best nursery rhyme creations. Typically spirited and endearingly humorous, Degen's art is the ideal match for Yolen's jaunty rhyme. The alternation of large-scale likenesses (in sprawling, borderless paintings) with smaller, neatly framed vignettes proves beguiling--and utterly appropriate." -- Publishers Weekly

"Jane's latest picture book is a rhythmic birthday story featuring a host of animals and a farmer who try to crowd into Mouse's little house to celebrate his special day. The rhyming text trips lightly off the tongue. It's great fun." -- Children's Literature

"Told in simple, repetitive verse, a funny story that'll be a good choice for very young groups. The humorous, large figures of Mouse's friends dominate Degen's brightly colored illustrations in amusing contrast to the appealing little Mouse."--Kirkus

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