PPBF – The Mouse Who Carried a House on his Back

Regular readers know I gravitate towards picture books that explore the meaning of home. And today’s Perfect Picture Book does just that!

Title: The Mouse Who Carried a House on his Back

Written By: Jonathan Stutzman

Illustrated By: Isabelle Arsenault

Publisher/Date: Candlewick Press/2022

Suitable for Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: home, shelter, generosity, fable, inclusion

Opening:

Vincent was a mouse with boots on his feet, a hat on his head, and a house on his back.

He had traveled many miles and lived many places, but today Vincent would live here, because he knew it was where he needed to be.

Brief Synopsis: A generous mouse shares his house with a variety of woodland animals.

Links to Resources:

• Find an empty box and see how many blocks, stuffed animals, and/or other items you can fit in it;
• Draw or construct your perfect house using empty boxes, paper, or even building blocks.

Why I Like this Book:

I love books that cause me to think about them, and life, long after I’ve finished reading. I’d like to say that’s why I purchased The Mouse Who Carried a House on his Back, but it was the cover, and specifically the cut-out shape of a house in the cover, that drew my attention initially. Then I noticed the smiling mouse, and that Arsenault is the illustrator (she’s one of my favorites!). After I’d read the first lines, I was hooked, and I added it to my library.

Why should you do so, too? I think kids will love the cut-outs, and the absurdity of the story: a mouse carrying a house on his back (emphasis added)?!? And all of those animals making themselves at home in that house. Kids won’t even notice that they’re learning about generosity, welcoming everyone, and doing what’s right, even when others don’t. And I think The Mouse Who Carried a House on his Back will leave older readers and adults pondering questions too, especially how Vincent knew “it was where he needed to be.”

Arsenault’s gouache, ink, and cut-paper illustrations in a warm, soft palette, invite readers into this fable-like story that, I think, kids will want to read again and again.

A Note about Craft:

The Mouse Who Carried a House on his Back is a fantasy story – not only do mice not carry houses on their backs, but a house that a mouse could carry would never be large enough to hold the menagerie of animals who take refuge in his home. But through this exaggeration, Stutzman challenges readers to think about our capacity to open our homes, and hearts, to those who need shelter, and love.

I don’t know who had the idea to add the cut-outs that appear in the cover and in several pages. But they add so much to the story, especially the all-important page turns.

This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!