Synopsis
A heartwarming tale of unlikely friendship
Estelle is nice and cozy in her bath, but the poor shivering mouse outside in the blizzard is anything but cozy. All he wants is a chance to warm up, so he squeeeeezes himself into the toasty little house. Little does he know that Estelle hates mice—and so does her cat!
This wild, soapy romp will warm even the most mouse-hating heart.
Children's Literature
Snow is piling up outside as a mouse peers through a window before this story begins. Then we are introduced, in rollicking rhymes, to Estelle, happily sipping tea in her warm tub of peppermint bubbles. The cast-off boots indicate that she has earned this, having shoveled the snow on the title page. Next to those boots appears our "snow-dusted mouse," who has squeezed into the house. When the two slightly cartoony characters encounter each other, Estelle leaps from the tub and begins a mad chase after the mouse. The bumping, bouncing, hopping, thumping, squeaking pursuit continues across the double pages. The mouse suddenly ends up in the tub. Soft-hearted Estelle just cannot watch him drown. They end up sharing the bubbles. DePalma uses acrylic paints and mixed media to produce all sorts of objects which she upends as the three characters in this melodrama (a black cat gets into the act as well) cavort hyperactively. Estelle is unconcerned about her nakedness beyond her shower cap; DePalma is quite clever in providing bubbles, towels, smoke, etc. to keep the story G-rated. The visual fun is aided by some key words done in calligraphy in assorted colors, with a final "NO-O-O_O_O!" all in red. Lots of fun, and a great read-aloud.