The premise here is that both adult and child can take turns reading. A slightly longer slice of text appears on the left-hand page, facing a couple of lines on the right. Although this works well enough, new readers (even at the story's designated Level One) can probably take on the longer text. The length of the story itself is more problematic. It gets off to a jaunty start, as a mouse invades a home and both family and cat are tied in knots sometimes literally. But it goes on too long as the simple rhymes (tree/free; car/jar), along with the mouse, move to the country and then back. The ink-and-watercolor art, though uneven, has plenty of energy and will amuse readers, both parents and children.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist