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Need a House? Call Ms. Mouse
Henrietta Mouse designs houses to fit the special needs of her animal friends.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
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335 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
November 20, 2016
This book is amazing! It was one of my favorites as a child and now that I have a son, I can't wait to share it with him. I have a copy and was hoping to get another one. I started looking for a copy and man they are expensive. Anyone out there have connections to the publisher? It needs to be reprinted so a new generation can enjoy it. The artwork is phenomenal! It is great for animal lovers, designers and architecture buffs. Writing this brings back memories of sitting for hours pouring over each page....
August 5, 2020
I have a small paperback version of this book, but I can’t really imagine the the larger hardcover version being more charming! A wonderful picture book where each page shows a unique house designed by Henrietta mouse for an animal client. I wish they would reprint this book, together with the other books illustrated by this wonderful illustrator - The Elephant’s Airplane, All Aboard with Jeremy Rabbit (aka The Travels of J. B. Rabbit), and The Country Life of J. B. Rabbit.
August 25, 2012
i bought this book many years ago for my children and the other day my daughter told me how much she really liked Mirabella mouse because she was an independent girl mouse who earned her own money, was creative and knew her own mind. I loved reading this book with my children, not only for the charming story of the architect mouse but also because it is beautifully illustrated by Doris Smith.
July 16, 2020
More than 30 years ago, my Mom, a talented but unknown artist, picked this up in a garage sale for my girls, just toddlers at the time. It became a favorite and is one of two children's books still remaining on my bookshelf. (The other was illustrated by Garth Williams.) The illustrations in this book are so intricate and fascinating that I just can't part with it.
October 22, 2008
One of the best children's books! The imagination behind the concept and the illustrations is amazing!
November 17, 2008
I still have this book at home. I could just look at those illustrations all day long!
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August 16, 2012AWESOME
June 15, 2023
Finally!!! My 3rd grade teacher had this book in her class library and I checked it out so many times to just stare at the pictures, and their incredible detail. I looked for this book many times over the next decade, only to find, once I got the correct title, that used copies were going for well over $100. Which I wasn’t paying.
But finally, at long last, the publisher reprinted it and I have it! The pictures are just as gorgeous and detailed as I remember. This book is the epitome of a picture book your imagination can crawl into and wade around for an hour. So gorgeous!
But finally, at long last, the publisher reprinted it and I have it! The pictures are just as gorgeous and detailed as I remember. This book is the epitome of a picture book your imagination can crawl into and wade around for an hour. So gorgeous!
January 1, 2020
This is an absolute gem of a book. The beautiful illustrations show cutaway versions of houses for various anthropomorphized animals, all designed by their mouse friend Henrietta.
But the animals aren't anthropomorphized so much that they lose their essential characteristics. So the rabbit has a cozy underground home with couches and a modern kitchen -- and also a very rabbity vegetable storage area. The otter has a very practical fishing lodge on the water. The owl has a tower, and a dignified perch instead of couches and beds. All of the animals (and there are a dozen or so) have beautiful homes with furniture and decor that seem exactly right. The author illustrator is totally committed to each illustration. The home design in this book is taken as seriously as it would be for a human house.
But the animals aren't anthropomorphized so much that they lose their essential characteristics. So the rabbit has a cozy underground home with couches and a modern kitchen -- and also a very rabbity vegetable storage area. The otter has a very practical fishing lodge on the water. The owl has a tower, and a dignified perch instead of couches and beds. All of the animals (and there are a dozen or so) have beautiful homes with furniture and decor that seem exactly right. The author illustrator is totally committed to each illustration. The home design in this book is taken as seriously as it would be for a human house.
August 10, 2021
I have very fond memories of reading this book to my children.
January 4, 2024
This book inspires children to think about how they want to live and what their dream house should look like. The detailed illustrations by Doris Susan Smith are a delight and drive the story. I would have liked to see more consistency in the narration by detailing the features of each home.
December 30, 2023
NYRB Children’s Collection just reissued this delightful 1981 book.
June 25, 2023
This picture book for children 4 to 8 presents imaginative floorplans to homes for 14 creatures—from the land, sky, and water—all designed, built, and decorated by Henrietta Mouse—whose willingness to look the other way in considering her clients’ tastes and habits (a gaudy palace for the pig, a villa for a cat that would otherwise kill him) is an ideal of circumspect behavior under unseemly conditions.
Each creature’s home is shown in cross-section across a two-page spread. Trout, for example, requests a “palace to resemble the lost paradise of Atlantis”; Mole has designed for him a “clever staircase and trapdoor” that eliminates muddy floors in his house; and Rabbit’s warren has a living room with a bookcase, a landline phone, posters, and soft cushions. Several other animals also have book and LP collections. By and large (pig excepted), the critters have understated tastes as represented in the elegant-but-modest dwellings Ms. Mouse has created for them. A great exercise in playing pretend.
For more of my reviews, please see https://www.thebookbeat.com/backroom/...
Each creature’s home is shown in cross-section across a two-page spread. Trout, for example, requests a “palace to resemble the lost paradise of Atlantis”; Mole has designed for him a “clever staircase and trapdoor” that eliminates muddy floors in his house; and Rabbit’s warren has a living room with a bookcase, a landline phone, posters, and soft cushions. Several other animals also have book and LP collections. By and large (pig excepted), the critters have understated tastes as represented in the elegant-but-modest dwellings Ms. Mouse has created for them. A great exercise in playing pretend.
For more of my reviews, please see https://www.thebookbeat.com/backroom/...
November 10, 2023
his book is just marvelous! A clear, fascinating story written in simple language that never belabours the tale accented by the most glorious illustrations. The reader enters into Henriettas’ world and sees her mind at work, feels the houses she creates. The pictures are evocative, cheerful, colourful. Even the end papers are wonderful! Illustrations that give intricate detailing, showing what makes a house a home and that each perfect home is completely different from the others, depending on what each creature needs. In this carefully considered aspect, the reader actually gets some insight into what these animals are like; what they need in the real wild world. There is humour, joy, intelligence and sensitivity on each page. It is simply a wonder. Enchanting, intriguing, delightful; filled with heart, imagination and friendship. I absolutely adore it and can’t recommend it highly enough.
November 6, 2023
The NYRB had this on sale a couple of weeks ago, so picked up 3 copies for the youngest folks for whom I buy books as a holiday gift. I try to read all the books I select for gifts. I love the illustrated ones for the age 3 and up that have a meaningful story. Ms Mouse is a good story of a very busy female architect who is everyone's chose because she knows how to meet every challenge, whether it is a house for a rabbit, a bird, a caterpillar, or anyone. The illustrations are so detailed. The book could be used as a way to discuss each of the animals a house is built for based on the illustrations! I hope the younguns enjoy it as much as I did!
February 9, 2023
Had this book as a child and it was a favorite of mine and my siblings. We’d dream about which character and house we’d like to be/in. The magic in this book never dies. Over the decades, our copy was lost through multiple moves. Several holidays ago, my sis bought 3 copies, 1 for each of us. All 3 of us have had kids, so this book is multigenerational, never goes out of style. I still open this book for a look through at least once a quarter. Nostalgia at its finest!
July 30, 2018
I loved this book as a kid and still do! Whenever I got to my grandma who lives about 6 hours away, I picked up this book just to stare at the beautiful illustrations for hours. The pictures of the houses are so imaginative and detailed, you can dream about living in one of these and how it would be there.
Fun fact: They stopped printing it and now it's sold for 100-300 Euros on amazon.
Fun fact: They stopped printing it and now it's sold for 100-300 Euros on amazon.
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December 28, 2021Once again not going to rate this because I am not the target audience . This is however a childhood favourite and I still love it. The pictures are very detailed and we get to see every creature’s home . I love seeing details I missed as a kid. My favourite house has gone from Pig’s mansion to Bear’s cozy cave .
July 19, 2022
We love the illustration of this book! One of our favorite books about houses which were cleverly designed by a Mouse for her animal clients! A great introduction to building, constructing and designing houses! Ms. Mouse is super creative and her attention to details are impeccable!
Such a mesmerizing read!
Such a mesmerizing read!
July 26, 2020
My absolute favorite picture book growing up. I loved everything about it and still enjoy it just as much today. The illustrations are beautifully detailed and clever and the story is cute. I wish this book was not out of print.
January 3, 2022
I had been looking for it for years, but as it is out of print, it was impossible to find one in a decent price, well I finally found one and it is as lovely as I imagined. Great premise of a mouse architect with amazing illustrations.
March 4, 2023
It's like Frank Lloyd Wright meets "The Secret of NIMH" - cutting edge, precise, rodent-laden, adorable. I truly enjoyed every whimsical architectural moment, from the underwater trout abode to the pig's palatial estate.
July 25, 2023
I was unfamiliar with this reprint, but I am delighted to have discovered it. Henrietta Mouse is a wonderful architect who builds custom houses for all the animals in the forest. The cutaway illustrations of each animal's home are charming and full of interesting detail.
December 21, 2023
No bs this book eats so hard and I’m unashamed that it’ll be added to my list of reads. Everyone give Henrietta mouse a round of applause because her ass builds houses with her tiny mouse hands and she will always be famous.
August 13, 2017
This was one of my favorite books growing up. I need to find a copy!
July 30, 2018
Fun story for all ages as Henrietta mouse decides to design a house. Her animal friends come in and help out in a great read.
July 29, 2019
My favorite book from childhood, such pretty illustrations.
June 12, 2021
Original and cute.
July 5, 2021
A masterpiece. Hope the publisher would reprint this book.
December 30, 2021
I loved this book as a child, such wonderful architectural drawings. Too bad it's out of print now. The art still hold up as amazing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews