A House For Mouse

Gabby Dawnay, Alex Barrow

In this delightful picture book, a little gray mouse goes on a journey to find a new home, encountering all of the great fairytale houses—from Old Mother Hubbard’s shoe to Sleeping Beauty’s castle—along the way. 

In a faraway land, a little gray mouse leaves his tiny hole in search of a new home. On his journey, he unwittingly encounters some of the biggest stars in the fairytale genre. He discovers a house shaped like a shoe (belonging to Old Mother Hubbard), which he concludes would be too noisy; he dines with a little pig in a house made of straw (awfully breezy); is flummoxed by a tower with no door (Rapunzel’s); and dares to take a nibble from a most remarkable house made of gingerbread (narrowly missing Hansel and Gretel).

The little gray mouse is about to give up when he comes face to face with the most spectacular house of all: a glorious castle (Sleeping Beauty’s). Its ballrooms, turrets, and drawbridge win him over, but he finds himself feeling alone, until— surprise!—his friends from the forest and all those he has met along the way come to the castle, where they feast and dance, and the little gray mouse learns that it is family and friends that turn a house into a home.

Children will delight in this fun, rhyming story with all of its rich references to well-known fairy tales. 

Reviews

A mouse ventures out in search of a new home and finds several abodes from well-known fairy tales aren't exactly to his liking in this rhyming picture book… The crayon drawings are whimsically Grimm while the text keeps things bright.

— Kirkus Reviews

The very first thing that strikes you about A House for Mouse is the beautifully illustrated cover and the quality of the book jacket…A perfect story to read aloud.

— New York Journal of Books

Contributors

Gabby Dawnay

Author

Gabby Dawnay is a writer and poet. She is the author of over twenty books for children, including the bestselling If I Had a … series. She is a regular contributor to OKIDO magazine and a scriptwriter for children's television.

Alex Barrow

Illustrated By

Alex Barrow, a London-based illustrator, is the art director for and a regular contributor to OKIDO magazine. Alex and Gabby are also the duo behind children's picture books If I Had a Dinosaur, A House for Mouse, and A Song for Bear.