I don’t often buy picture books brand new. Mostly budget reasons, but I wait to find a book secondhand or at a discount spot (that isn’t Amazon). The other reason is that I generally like older books more. But today’s book is an exception on both counts. I think it was a year ago that I stopped into a favorite Hereford bookstore on a charming side street near the Cathedral. I just wandered through, seeing what new picture books were on the shelves and reading a few in the minutes I had to peruse. This book caught my eye, but I have to admit, I wasn’t wowed by the cover. I had heard of it, it came out in 2022 so it’s been around a few years now; but somehow it is still on new bookshelves so I picked it up to discover its staying power. And within the first couple pages, I knew it was coming home with me. Let me share with you Mouse’s Wood by Alice Melvin, 2022. (Apparently the text is by William Snow, but that is only mentioned on the title page and it is a bit confusing. But I don’t want to not note it, so there it is.)
I love a good book map. I adore them actually. I have a book all about illustrated book maps. And I could start listing all the books that I love that open with an illustrated map – picture books and chapter books both! This one isn’t particularly detailed or topographically interesting, but it is fun and gives a taste of what is coming in this book – lots of animal houses that look fascinating.
But here is the really special thing about this book. This is just the title page and colophon, so the illustration is optional to be honest, but don’t skip it. This is the invitation into Mouse’s Wood. You can’t quite tell in the photo, but that door peeking through there is literally peeking from the page beneath. This is a die-cut book! You should be excited. Let’s turn the page and enter…
There’s the house. You can see the tear-shaped die-cut from the side page. And you can see Mouse up in the window. But wait! It looks like Mouse is really in that window. Is that another die-cut? Why yes, yes it is. Are we excited yet?!
We get to open Mouse’s house! I adore cut-away illustrations even more than illustrated maps. It is just the best to get to peek inside buildings and especially little homes. And don’t you just love Mouse’s house?
Now, if you are like me, you got distracted by the die-cuts and especially getting to go inside Mouse’s house, so you may have missed the text on this first page. It begins in January, and Mouse himself is telling us what he does in January when it is cold and snowy. The text is 4 lines, lightly rhymes, and is just the right feel to carry us along.
The next page shows another friend’s house and talks of February. I was tempted to photograph every page because I love this book so much, but as it is new and readily available, you just get to see bits in this review and I encourage you to grab it from the library or a bookshelf for yourself! (Support real artists and real bookstores!)
In March, we see Mouse helping Hedgehog hang their laundry. (Sidenote, hedgehogs are one of my favorite animals and are not found in the US, so I love living in the UK and seeing them often in real life and in loads of picture books!)
Hedgehog’s house is an adorable A-frame and you get to open the bottom and top bits separately. It is so cozy with the wood stove and the twinkle lights above their bed. I just love all the details Alice Melvin has included!
On we walk through the year and through the wood, visiting Mouse’s friends and peeking into their houses. In May, the Wood itself opens up a bit for a picnic.
In July, we get a delightful nod to The Wind and the Willows with the river and the boat.
We get to see inside Otter’s place of course, and Otter himself moves with the water to the other side so we can see under the water where is Mouse climbing the ladder and the ducks are diving for fish (I didn’t get a picture of that.)
October is a favorite as we visit Red Squirrel and their tiny little treehouse with a swing.
I don’t quite understand where Red Squirrel sleeps, but it’s their house!
I just love the balance throughout this book. A little a bit of story moving us through the events of beloved activities of each month. A different house or place to peek into on every page. It’s one of the coziest books! I long to visit in every month and experience the charms each month and each home offers.
The book closes in December with a big party as all the animals welcome the new year in.
I really just love this book. It’s been on a side table this whole year, never getting put away on the picture book shelves, because one of us continues to pick it up. My teen girls and I all love to study and look inside each house. The homes have inspired projects of their own and it’s just such a sweet book to keep returning to.
Also, I must share the end spreads as the book is not only fiction, but is a peek into life in the woods. There are different things to spot in each illustration for each month and also encourage you to go into nature each month and look for those things yourself.
And there is even a page dedicated to the variety of animals and information about them (especially in the UK.) This is so cool! While the animals and homes are anthropomorphized delightfully, you are also gaining information about real animals and their real homes in the woods. So cleverly done.
I hope you have enjoyed a peek into Mouse’s Wood. It has etched itself well into my favorites currently. There are a couple more books about Mouse by Alice Melvin and I hope to pick those up sometime too. What a joy! Her style and composition are really well done. It’s a good book that draws you back in to revisit and linger on different spreads. Go grab yourself or someone you love a copy! (It would make a great Christmas present if you are already thinking ahead!)
