A mouse finger puppet attached to the book encourages playful, interactive reading. The puppet "talks" to the animal in the book and to the child who is listening . . . making this book uniquely interactive. Young readers will hardly be able to wait for their turn to use the puppet and participate.

Simms Taback won a Caldecott Honor Award for There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly and the Caldecott Medal for Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, of which The Horn Book wrote, "The art sings with color and movement and humor and personality." He is known for his posters, Smithsonian calendars, and a line of greeting cards, as well as his many acclaimed picture books.