Julius's mother has baked cupcakes with candy corns on top for his Halloween party. As he admires them, she informs him that he can't eat them until the guests arrive. "So Julius started counting instead. `One candy corn,' said Julius." The illustrations show the little white mouse eating the candy-not the cupcakes-until he has "counted" them all. Just as he finishes consuming the last of them, the doorbell rings, and the party begins. One to four lines of short text on lilac, lime green, sunshine yellow, sugary pink, or candy-corn orange backgrounds face simple illustrations on all-white backgrounds. The cupcakes are arranged in a straight line on a tabletop in each picture, enabling young listeners to help count the cupcakes (and candy corns) along with Julius. This is a gem of a story; it's short and sweet and perfect for toddler and preschool storytimes. Olga R. Kuharets, Broward County Libraries, Fort Lauderdale, FL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.