Mouse Calls is written by Anne Marie Pace and is a delightful picture book about a mouse who carefully gathers everyone together to wait out a storm. 

The book begins with dark clouds rolling in across the waves. Mouse runs to tell Moose, setting off a series of events that has all animals rushing to shelter in a cave. The message quickly passes from one animal to the other in a rhythmical pattern, “Mouse calls Moose. // Moose calls Goose. / Goose calls Dog / and Hog / and Hare. // Hare calls Bat. / Bat calls Cat. / Cat calls Frog / and then calls Mare.” The animals in the book seem to be chosen based on rhyme rather than habitat.

My favorite part of the book is Erin Kraan’s detailed illustrations which are layered with different patterns, textures and colorful details. Students will have fun looking at what the animals bring along with them as they gather in the cave to pass the time or share with others. This is a fun, rhyming read aloud focused on the theme of community.