How does the author use word-play in the novel, The Mouse and the Motorcycle?

As a novel written for children, the story takes plenty of opportunity to insert silly word-play that will delight young readers. When Keith offers to get Ralph anything he wants for breakfast, Ralph is shocked: “Ralph was astounded. This was the first time in his life anyone had asked him what he would like to eat. It had always been a question of what he could get his paws on” (66). Here, the novel plays on the common idiom frequently used to jocularly refer to human hands as paws and instead uses it on a mouse, who literally has paws.