A Mouse in the House

by Vivian French, Tim Archbold (Illustrator)

What can Gran do to get rid of the mouse in her house?

Gran has got a little problem—there's a mouse in her house and it is eating her cheese. How is Gran going to get rid of the mouse? With a black and white cat? Or with a big, spotty dog? What Gran really needs is a dear little flea!

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Vivian June Isoult French MBE was born in 1945 and educated at Exeter University.
Vivian French was best known in school for being extremely skinny and for talking a lot. At school she developed an attachment to words and later became an actor, then a storyteller, and finally a writer of children's books. She is the author of more than two hundred books. Ms. French lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has four grown daughters.

Reviews

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very readable, but please...

fleas?

[Nathaniel Dykstra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary-
Oh no! There's a mouse in her house! She gets her son and other help to get rid of such mouse, and it works with fleas! The only problem is, she now has a new flea problem!

Review-
I don't know how much of this rating is biased. I used to read this some odd years back when I was smaller, and absolutely loved it. Now as I reread it, I don't know if I can still say that. I really like the art style here, it's weird and silly and I love it. The story is very weak, but what can you expect from a level 1 book with rhymes. I would recommend it to only the intended audience.

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is quite funny, but has a very simple story line and is very short. I think children would enjoy searching for the animals in the very busy illustrations of Gran's house. This is a story about a young boy who is trying to help his Gran get rid of a mouse in her house, but is rather unsuccessful. I would read this book to EYFS/KS1 in free time, but I would not base a unit of literacy work around it. The illustrations however are interesting, very brightly coloured with lots of bold patterns, encased in mainly straight lines. This could represent the Gran's lively personality, combined with her fear of the mouse and chaos in her house. They are in the style of a child's drawing.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun story for children up to Year 3, the illustrations are quirky and colourful, they're very intricate and so it would be best if the book was either used in group reading or if a visualiser could be used so the details could be enjoyed. The story is enjoyable as Gran first of all has a mouse in the house and she tries lots of things to get it away, ending up with using fleas. These get rid of the mouse but then she can't get rid of the fleas!

[Billy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very great level 1 book. The book is not only easy to read for the kids, but also consists of rhymes that make it fun for them. The illustrations look good enough for a child to make connections between what is what.