John Burningham’s “Mouse House” follows the lives of two families under the same roof: a human and a mouse family. How are their relationships going to develop? Are they going to be friends or foes?
The human family of a mother, father, boy and girl seems to live an uninterrupted life, unaware that by the time they have gone to bed, the mice family appears to have a feast and the mice children to play. The pattern follows until one evening, when the boy notices the mouse. Beautifully drawn illustrations show the negative emotions of the adults when encountering the creatures. The father takes a traditional approach and phones the mouse catcher, who comes in the morning to deliver his mouse sacks, making the house ‘mouse-free’. On the contrary, the children have the opposite feelings towards the mice and think they will not do any harm. For that reason, they write a little note to warn them about the potential danger. The mouse family manage to escape successfully, but not far. Seeing them at night in the garden, the children bring joy to their lives by creating a trampoline, a swing and a slide. Until winter, the mice disappear, not leaving a note to the kids. Life continues in its natural rhythm until one evening, the boy sees a mouse in the house but keeps the truth this time to himself.
“Mouse House” is an easy-to-follow story with few surprises on the way. Charming, emotionally charged outlined characters enhance the reading experience. A picture book can benefit cross-curricular planning in the early years setting or be used as a reading book for children between the ages of 3 and 6.
The Stats:
- Title: Mouse House
- Author and Illustrator: John Burningham
- ISBN: 978-0-857-55177-1
- Publication Date: 2017
- Page Count: 32
- Publisher: Jonathan Cape
- Recommended age: 3-6
- Categories/Topic: Animals, Families
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