In this delightful sequel to Benny and Penny in Just Pretend (2008), the mouse siblings have a new neighbor whom they suspect might be a thief, because Benny's pail is missing. When they look over the fence into the backyard, they see strange footprints. Then Benny falls into the yard, Penny follows, and they find a pail, mudpies, and a hedgehog girl wearing swim goggles and fins on her feet. They accuse each other, the hedgehog girl flings mud at the others, and the two mice go back to their yard‚ where Penny finds Benny's pail in their sandbox. Now they have to go back and apologize. Young readers will recognize the misunderstanding and the bad first impressions people will sometimes make as Benny and Penny and Melina learn a lesson about making friends. Hayes draws charming little animal children with highly expressive faces, and he uses great dialogue, easy-to-follow panels, and fun sound effects; children will repeat his muddy "plop!" with gusto.
Ages 4-8