Petr Horacek
Walker Books
Age 3-5
Tiny mouse is on a mission to find a new house large enough for her and her enormous, red apple. Nibbling her apple along the way, she tries to share the homes of several other animals, but none seems quite right. At the end of a long, dispiriting day, Mouse finds a house that’s a perfect for her and her apple …… core!
A richly coloured picture book with peepholes, repetition and humour.
Share the story
Read aloud
Before reading the story, encourage children to look at the cover and to talk about what they notice. Then read through the story, pausing to talk about the pictures.
Talk about the story
Talk together about the story, encouraging children to predict what will happen next. Which part of the story do they like best and why.
Join in
As you read and reread the book, encourage children to join in where they can. Their confidence and enjoyment will grow as you reread the book together and children become more familiar with the story and the patterned language.
Tell the story
Using the pictures in the book, children can retell the story in their own words, perhaps using some of the repeated language from the book.
Things to make and do*
Play the story
Collect together some toy animals to represent the characters in the story and cardboard boxes of different sizes to represent their homes. Cut holes in each of these for animals to squeeze through. Arrange the boxes around a room and go on Mouse’s journey together as you read the story. It would be fun for your child to have an apple to munch and watch getting smaller at the same time.
Make a storymap
On a large piece of paper, children can draw what happens in the story as a simple map of Mouse’s journey. They may come to realise that Mouse travels in a circle, beginning and ending at her own home. If they want to, children can add captions or speech bubbles to their map. When it’s finished, they can tell you Mouse’s story, using their storymap to help them.
Make a cosy home for an animal
Using shoeboxes, egg boxes, cartons, fabric and natural materials from the park or garden, children can create an animal home for one (or more) of their animal toys.
Be an artist
Cut an apple in half and encourage children to look carefully and to draw or paint what they see, both the inside and the outside. They could try printing with an apple too, perhaps using and mixing red and green paint.
No place like home
What do children especially like about their home? They can go on a hunt of their favourite things and photograph up to ten things to talk about with you.
Make a mouse finger puppet
Using paper, card, or felt plus glue, sellotape or a stapler, make cone shaped finger puppet. Children can add ears, eyes, nose, whiskers, and a tail (shoelace or length of wool). Make more than one puppet and children can create more mouse tales.
Mouse in felt by Nanabread’s Head
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