Sailor's Bride — Tony Waters

In his picture book debut, Waters presents a romantic tale of love, courage and determination. Susanna the mouse decides to marry Whitewhiskers, a sailor mouse with a gold ring in his ear; her parents warn her that she'll be a lonely wife (``Sailors love only the sea,'' her mother says). Susanna and her husband write long, flowery letters and have joyous visits whenever he returns from a voyage. When Susanna learns that Whitewhiskers has been lost at sea, she is determined to find him, even though she doesn't know much about boats and has 10 mouse children to care for. After reading a message in a bottle, Susanna rescues Whitewhiskers from a distant island with the help of a kind turtle and sea gull, and the family heads home. Waters's mice exhibit a great range of facial expression and have nearly human body language. Their tiny sailor suits and slickers demonstrate the artist's fine eye for detail. Although the plot is perhaps too grand in scope, it contains a pleasant mix of adventure and familial sentiment--a story that in many ways echoes the trials of a modern dual-career marriage. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)