"Wake up!" says Rufus, a large and very hungry owl. "It's time to catch the fearsome mouse. I'm in a mood for a bowl of mouse soup for breakfast." The little owl Pip, who's better at sleeping than swooping, leaps from the nest and lands right on top of that fearsome mouse whose name, he learns, is Theodore. In this story for readers 4 to 8, Theodore has a surprising gift for the hungry bird, leading Pip to wonder if it is time for breakfast—or friendship. Making fine use of watercolor and colored pencil, Denys Cazet situates his comical critters in a beautifully rendered northern California landscape at twilight.