School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-A dog, a cat, and a few mice take exactly 12 steps to procure their dinner in this concept book that begins, "This story is told in twelve sentences. (Start counting now!) In the first sentence, a cat runs into the story-." Children will laugh as the characters go to great lengths to extract some cheese and sausage from the refrigerator, until a shadow indicates that they have been caught. The text is flat and its self-referencing awkward; however, it clearly demonstrates a narrative sequence as well as ordinal numbers in action. This is a comfortable read-aloud, with double pages of dark, saturated color and a bold, comical font superimposed on one side of the spread. The book is a quick match, in a supporting role, for other sequential narratives such as Philemon Sturges's The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) (Dutton, 1999) and Audrey Wood's The Napping House (Harcourt, 1984).-Teresa Pfeifer, Alfred Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
An unlikely trio--a cat, a dog, and a mouse--hatch a plan to procure a snack, and twelve simple sentences describe the action while teaching ordinal numbers. The humorous illustrations capture the intrigue and glee as the adventure unfolds, and then foreshadow what will happen when ""the twelfth sentence ends. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
"This story is told in 12 sentences (start counting NOW!)" First, a cat runs into the story and cries HELP; a dog and mouse come in; the cat whispers in the mouse's ear; mouse whispers in dog's ear; mouse leaps onto cat; cat and mouse leap onto dog; mouse shakes head and cries HELP and two more mice climb on the dog and cat; dog, cat, and three mice shout HEAVE HO and the refrigerator door opens. In the last sentence, a gallon of milk, cheese and sausages fall to the floor where there is a pleasant dinner "at least until the 12th sentence ends." Here, the illustration shows the shadow of a person looming over the animals, all of whom have startled expressions. Cheeky cartoon artwork effectively incorporates shadows throughout the scenes, creating a mildly ominous anticipation that builds to the surprise ending. A clever concept and cleverer execution will have preschoolers giggling over the outcome. A simple tale of tails with a subtle message of teamwork. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
