DATE: Tuesday, June 10, 1997                TAG: 9706100043

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E4   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Book Review 

SOURCE: BY KRYS STEFANSKY, staff writer 

                                            LENGTH:   27 lines

AN ENTERTAINING TALE OF UNLIKELY FRIENDS

WOULD A MOUSE ever make friends with a cat? Would a cat ever be pals with a mouse?

It happens in ``Cat and Mouse,'' a beautiful book by Tomek Bogacki (Frances Foster Books).

In big, simple, joyful paintings, this Polish-born author/illustrator tells the story of two mothers, a cat and a mouse, who are trying to teach their children about the world. But each family has one little curious member who ventures out on his own and makes friends with his natural enemy.

The two youngsters play a little one-upmanship in a meadow where they meet and get to know each other. The kitten and mouseling discover they have much more in common than not.

This is a very short story with enough action in the pictures to capture the attention of even the smallest listener. And there are so few words that the book is easily ``read'' alone by pre-readers. It's a wonderful springboard for a discussion about the pitfalls of stereotypes and prejudice. ILLUSTRATION: [Picture of the book jacket]

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