The Mouse Who Carried a House on His Back

Vincent, a mouse who roams the world carrying his house on his back and stopping where he knows he should, offers food and shelter to animals in need. After setting up his house, he invites a weary bullfrog and a hungry cat inside. Each initially declines the offer, saying his house is too small. But after entering, they find that it is bigger than it looks. Others soon join them: deer, hedgehogs, badgers, rabbits, and a fox. Just as they are sitting down to dinner, a large, hungry bear knocks on Vincent’s door. Fearful, the other animals urge their host to turn him away, but Vincent opens his home to the gentle bear, and all is well.

Jonathan Stutzman is the author of several picture books, including Tiny T. Rex and the Impossible Hug, illustrated by Jay Fleck; Llama Destroys the World, illustrated by Heather Fox; and The Night Is for Darkness, illustrated by Joseph Kuefler. Jonathan Stutzman lives in Pennsylvania.

Isabelle Arsenault is an acclaimed illustrator whose work has achieved international recognition and won many awards, including the Governor General’s Literary Award. She was short-listed for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2020 and was nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2021. She is the illustrator of Just Because by Mac Barnett, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year, Captain Rosalie by Timothée de Fombelle, and many others. Isabelle Arsenault lives in Montreal.