Mousekin's Golden House

Mousekin #1

by Edna Miller

The story of a mouse and the jack-o'lantern he uses as a winter home

Genres: Picture Books, Halloween, Childrens, Animals, Nature, Holiday, Classics

30 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Born in 1920 and grew up in NYC. Later lived in Vermont and Maryland.

"As a child I developed a great love of animals. At the zoo in Central Park, I made childish sketches of my favorite animals. The Museum of Natural History was my second home.......The idea for my first book, Mousekin's Golden House, came to me shortly after Halloween when I had put the family pumpkin outside. One evening I noticed a small, white-footed mouse exploring the jack-o'-lantern for the few seeds it contained. I thought what a fine house it would make for a white-footed mouse who forever discards one home and searches for another."

"Edna Miller grew up in New York City near The American Museum of Natural History where the animal exhibits always interested her. During her travels in this country and abroad, Mrs. Miller has observed the behavior and habits of animal life. After completing Mousekin's Christmas Eve, Mrs. Miller felt there was only one reward she could give the live mouse she was using as her model. He had been well fed and exercised, but a wire cage was no place for a healthy mouse. She 'carried the cage to the woods and opened the door-- to freedom.'" --from the dustjacket of Mousekins's Christmas Eve.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both adult I and my inner child absolutely adore Edna Miller's illustrations for Mousekin's Golden House (which was published in 1964 and is the first of her Mousekin picture books). And yes, Miller's softly hued imaginatively realistic watercolour depictions of fauna and flora are making both of us collectively smile with aesthetic joy and appreciation (the plants, trees, leaves, grasses, the diminutively cute white footed mouse who is the main protagonist and who finds a discarded Halloween Jack o'Lantern to use as his warm and cozy winter nest, the predators stalking and hunting Mousekin but who are unable to to reach him inside of his pumpkin house and fortress, the phoebe bird who tries to convince Mousekin to also go south for the winter, the turtle and the chipmunk who keep admonishing him to leave the pumpkin, to dig deep into the earth for hibernation, the final picture of Mousekin's Golden House of the Jack o'Lantern with its eyes and mouth closed, knowing that our little white footed mouse is safely inside the pumpkin in its snugly built nest, sleeping soundly until springtime comes again).

Maybe what Edna Miller has penned for Mousekin's Golden House can be a wee bit textually jumpy (at times) and her story is rather simplistic as well (albeit sweetly and lovingly poetic for all that). But while Miller's words are as such not nearly as descriptive and thus equally not nearly as magical as her visually utterly delightful artwork, text and images do work pretty well together for Mousekin's Golden House and leave a delightful pumpkin and nature themed autumn and winter story, feature and present a lovely and wonderful picture book (a book that although fictional actually shows realistically how white footed mice live and what they do in the autumn to get ready, to prepare for the snow and the cold of winter, and that while some of the animals encountered in Mousekin's Golden House, like the phoebe and the chipmunk are a trifle anthropomorphic in Edna Miller's text although never illustratively so, Mousekin himself is never anything but a white footed mouse both narrationally and pictorially, a mouse who finds a discarded Jack o'Lantern after Halloween and uses it for a house, a nest and as protection). Four stars for Mousekin's Golden House, warmly recommended (and that I now also want to read all of Miller's Mousekin stories).

Oh and by the way, I also find it kind of neath that Edna Miller points out how she wrote and illustrated Mousekin's Golden House after she watched a white footed mouse making himself at home in Jack o'Lantern left over from Halloween (in her family's backyard).

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of print, but this is a prime candidate for reissuing by a new publisher. The many associations with concepts of nature and science are justification enough, but the real reason is superior quality of every aspect of this book- well-paced story, lyrical language, lively characterization, subtle but detailed illustrations, and a satisfying ending that works on every level. Find it somewhere and share it.

[Karen Witzler · Rating 5 out of 5]

We loved Mousekin!

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small mouse finds safe haven inside a discarded jack-o'-lantern. Sweet story illustrated with beautiful watercolors by the author.

[Nicole (bookwyrm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating 5 stars partly for the nostalgia factor, since I know I loved this book as a kid. (I still do. Enough that I sought out a used copy of it for my keeper shelf since it's now out of print.)

Adorable picture book about a mouse who makes his home inside a discarded jack-o-lantern. The art is a wonderful complement to the story here.

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

We adore the Mousekin books! This was a sweet story about how Mousekin made a home out of an abandoned Jack o lantern.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is older but I think it is still a valuable read for a classroom. It has short easy sentences, but it larger (like a miniature chapter book) and beautiful illustrations. The story is fiction, but there are a lot of nonfiction items that could be used for learning. Decay, food chains, seasons, and hibernation are all contained in this short story.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

 A very cute book with decent illustrations (the images are more in line with what an adult would appreciate, not a child - there's actually a psychology behind the different styles of children's illustrations, did you know that?). I still love this book, though.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very cute, colorful, and engaging story about a mouse who discovers a jack-o-lantern that was left in the woods after Halloween. As the cold months come in the mouse gathers things to make the pumpkin his home for the winter. I really enjoyed this book. It's calm and fun and kept moving. It's not a wild ride, but a book that makes you feel like you're in the woods and it's calm and peaceful I just enjoyed the mouse, whose name is Mousekin. I'm excited to discover this is the first book in a series. I will definitely be checking more out. Shame we don't have any at the library. I think they might be out of print. Mousekin's Golden House (1964) by Edna Miller. My rating - 5/5

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a darling of a book. The story is a learning story about nature and the changing season, as well as a sweet mouse tale. The illustrations are beautiful. I guess I have a soft spot for watercolor illustrations.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations that would equally honor a natural history book. The story is cute, too, but it;s the illustrations that really stand out.

[Annie MacPherson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A childhood favorite.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read this book every fall and enjoy the idea of Mousekin and his golden house. The illustrations are life like detailed, yet simple.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the pictures in this book. It's really about a relationship between a mouse and it's house which happens to be a Jack-O-Lantern. This was one of the books that was at my grandparents house growing up. It's funny to me that I remember which books stayed there and which ones we had at home. Anyway, the story is beyond mundane but the pictures are so sweet that I can't bear to part with it.

[Kathy Blose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very beautifully told and educational. Edna Miller's sensitive pictures of Mousekin seeking a place of his own to live in at autumn are precious. He finds a pumpkin and hollows it out. I love the Mousekin series.

Kathy in Las Vegas

[Aurora · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is out of print, and I'd like to find a used copy somewhere to keep. Beautiful pictures and a great story about how an abandoned jack o'lantern left out in the snow becomes a warm winter home for Mousekin.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The copy we took out of the library has an ugly cover that doesn't do the illustrations inside justice. The story is simple: A mouse uses a discarded jack'o'lantern as a hiding place and then home. The illustrations are beautiful. The details show the animals very realistically.

[Pretend City Children's Museum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a sweet and heart warming book. The illustrations are classic and the book teaches children all about the creatures and critters in the forest! When I read this book, I had a comforting smile across my face. It was sweet, simple and perfect!

[Becky H.]

Mousekin finds a new house to keep him warm in the winter. Very cute book for after Halloween.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are beautifully realistic! A cute and clever story for young readers

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since reading this book years ago I never carve a pumpkin without picturing how it might collapse and rot. Mice are cutist outside camping in pumpkins.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! Really hope it gets reprinted.

[Angel Sibenaller · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books growing up!

[WSL Library]

x2

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute, great illustrations!

[Lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edna Miller books are the best.

[Saphirra · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite children’s books. The story and illustrations are beautiful.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book ever. Mousekin is soooo cute!!! This book is out of print, but I have my original copy from the ‘70s or ‘80s. I don’t let anyone use it. I adore it!!!

[Deyanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A long-time family favorite...obviously old since I paid 95 cents for my copy.