Homes – Diane's Picture Book Favourites

Illustrated by the author

Published by Nosy Crow, London, 2020

Ross Collins has charmed us again with a sequel to There’s a Bear on my Chair.

But this time, the cheeky mouse is causing all the problems. He’s arrived at Bear’s house with a box. It looks like he’s moving in and hanging pictures on the wall.

There’s nothing that Bear can do to get that mouse out of the house!

Bear suggests a trip to Luxembourg, Mexico, Timbuktu or Borneo, but no, the mouse just does not want to go.

Mouse settles in and dresses up, helps himself to the food, plays loud music and takes a bath. Oh no! Just when things couldn’t get any worse, there’s a knock. Who could it be behind the red door?

I just love this playful, rhyming story. The illustrations are bright, elegant and expressive. The colours are bold and eye catching. Bear is wonderfully grumpy and at the same time, forbearing, despite being so big. Mouse is cheeky, and at the same time, endearing, full of mischief and mayhem.

I can highly recommend this picture book for children 2-4 years and below are more of my favourite picture book stories which feature mice…I didn’t know I had so many!

There’s a Bear on My Chair
by Ross Collins

The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright Illustrated by Jim Field

The Tale of Two Bad Mice
by Beatrix Potter

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Illustrated by Felicia Bond

Little Mouse and the Red Wall
by Britta Teckentrup

The Mouse’s Apples
by Frances Stickley
Illustrated by Kristyna Litten

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don & Audrey Wood
Illustrated by Don Wood

A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker Illustrated by
Kady MacDonald Denton

Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni

The Mouse who wasn’t Scared
by Petr Horacek

Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse
by Kevin Henkes

We’re Getting a Cat!
by Vivian French
Illustrated by Salvatore Rubbino

A Mouse called Julian
by Joe Todd-Stanton

Maisy Goes to the Library
by Lucy Cousins

Meet Angelina Ballerina
by Katharine Holabird
Illustrated by Helen Craig

I Am A Tiger by Karl Newson Illustrated by Ross Collins

The Tailor of Gloucester
by Beatrix Potter

Illustrated by Britta Teckentrup

Published by Little Tiger Kids, Great Britain, 2020

“All of us need a place to rest –

A cave, a warren, a pond, a nest…

Wherever we may choose to roam,

We need a place to call our home.”

Writing about this picture book today is especially meaningful. A few suburbs away my daughter and her partner are busily packing up boxes and heaving them into a moving truck which will take all their belongings and hopes for the future to a new home. It will be their own home, after years of renting and the excitement of this new phase in their lives, along with the responsibility of the mortgage, is palpable.

They say that “home is where the heart is” and for myself I feel that this is true. The walls, the roof, the people who inhabit the space, the atmosphere, the belongings, the events, the memorabilia, the warmth, and cosiness…all combine to give us an emotive connection to the space we live in. Whether we are animals or humans, these shelters enable us to thrive, create, and rest.

In this picture book, we meet a family of bears waking up from their winter den hibernation and venturing out into a world that is showing the first signs of spring. Almost all the pages have cut-outs, so you can peek through trees and branches to catch a glimpse of owls, squirrels, and beavers as they go about the business of making their homes. Rabbits in warrens, birds in nests, wolves in dens – this is a wonderful introduction to animals and their homes. Teckentrup’s illustrations vividly bring to life the creativity and wonder of home-making, the place that keeps us safe.

I can highly recommend this picture book for children 2-4 years and below are more suggestions for books which explore the idea of home, whether you are animal or human:

Tag: Homes

Ross Collins: There’s a Mouse in My House

Illustrated by the author

Patricia Hegarty: Home

Illustrated by Britta Teckentrup