Vera the mouse returns in this second miniature picture-book devoted to her doings from Dutch author/artist Marjolein Bastin, following upon My Name Is Vera. In this installment of the series she describes some of her favorite activities, from baking to dressing up and playing make-believe. Each two-page spread features a brief description of a hobby on the left-hand page, and a full-page painting of Vera on the right...

Originally published in Dutch as Vera's knutselboekje, Vera's Special Hobbies is every bit as cute and winsome as its predecessor, with a sweet, old-fashioned charm. Also like its predecessor, the dimensions of the book (around five inches tall, four inches wide) make it ideally suited for young hands, and call to mind the work of Beatrix Potter or Jill Barklem. That said, the narrative here, although not unappealing, did feel more like a list than a story. The initial activity described, in which Vera "dresses up" as an Indian in a feather headdress, will also likely make some contemporary readers wince. These issues didn't ruin the book for me - I still intend to track down other entries in the series - but they did make it less enjoyable than the first. Recommended to fans of Vera, or of stories about cute little mice and their pint-sized (thimble-sized?) adventures. ( )