Illustrated by Alex Barrow
Published October 2, 2018
Why we chose this book:
We love fairy tales and nursery rhymes, so a book that touches on characters from many different ones is right up our alley. Thames and Hudson provided a review copy.
Mom's Review
Mouse decides to seek a new home. After a farewell party from his friends, he sets off in search of the ideal abode. He sees the three pigs' homes, Rapunzel's tower, and the old woman's children-filled shoe. He isn't sure where he should go next. Finally, he arrives at a castle that seems almost perfect (you'll see Sleeping Beauty up in the attic), and once his friends come to throw him a house-warming party, he finds that it is perfect indeed.
What I especially loved about this book were all the visual references to fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters. The illustrations and maps are beautiful themselves, but finding characters you already know in the background, like Little Red Riding Hood, adds to the joy of reading this story. And it is a fun read — the rhythm and rhyme flow so smoothly that I found myself starting almost to rap (not quite sing, and definitely not chant, and I'm no Eminem, but I was feeling musically inspired, so rap is the best way to describe what I was doing). T enjoyed finding characters he knew, and he also enjoyed my enthusiasm in reading. And the storyline is so sweet, with a moral that family and friends make a home.
In general, I enjoy seeing how authors and illustrators adopt and adapt characters from other literature, and Dawnay's and Barrow's work is a delight.
Son's Review
(Age: 3 and 1/2 years)
T and his father read this together while I was digging that trench. (I read him Franklin and Luna Go to the Moon.) So when I sat down to read this with T, he had things to tell me before I even turned to the first page.
T, pointing to the compass on the first page's map: That's a compass. I'll tell you what it's [the book is] like. It's, so, the mouse is looking for a house and all the houses that he finds are not right. And so he keeps looking. Until he finds a castle and he says something's not right. He needs his friends. So that's what's not right. He solved the mystery.
Now for the review interview...
Mom: Did you recognize any of the characters from other books you've read?
Son: I did. I recognized Hansel and Gretel and the witch.
Mom: What did you think about seeing characters you knew from other books?
Son: I thought that was pretty awesome.
Mom: What was your favorite house?
Son: The castle with no door [Rapunzel's tower]. That [final castle] was my favorite big picture. Was that your favorite big picture?
Mom: No. My favorite was the map in the middle of the book.
Mom: What would you do if Mouse came to our door?
Son: I would say, "Come in. You can live here."
Mom: How did this book make you feel?
Son: Sad that he couldn't find a house. But happy that he did find a house.
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