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Need a House? Call Ms. Mouse! Spiral-Bound | June 13, 2023

George Mendoza, Doris Susan Smith (Illustrated by)

★★★★☆+ from 101 to 500 ratings

$23.59 - Free Shipping
Every animal in the forest can have a home they love with the help of Ms. Mouse in this whimsical and educational book about design and architecture.

Henrietta is a world-famous architect, and the only mouse in the world who knows what makes a squirrel or a rabbit, a caterpillar or a frog feel at home. A dreamer, a designer, an artist, and a creator, Henrietta works at her drawing board to imagine the perfect home for each of her friends, be they woodland, water, subterranean or winged creatures.

With clever features, like a trapdoor for Mole or a telescope platform for Owl, and the ideal placement, like high in a pine for Squirrel or inside a pear for Caterpillar, Henrietta Mouse’s houses are both practical and beautiful—in short, ingenious!

George Mendoza’s Need a House? Call Ms. Mouse! is as inspiring today as when it was first published in 1981, and Doris Susan Smith’s illustrations of this hard-working female protagonist and her fantastical designs and architectural marvels will captivate young readers.

Publication History:Originally pub 1981
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Original Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 48 pages
ISBN-10: 1681377365
Item Weight: 0.9 lbs
Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 11.1 inches
Customer Reviews: 4 out of 5 stars 101 to 500 ratings
"Like Doris Burn’s 1965 classic 'Andrew Henry’s Meadow,' this picture book plays to the special fondness children have for imagining the neat features they’d incorporate were they to build houses of their own." —Meghan Cox Gurdon, Wall Street Journal

"Each dwelling is lovingly furnished down to the tiniest detail." —The New York Times

"Each house represents not just a life but also a lifestyle." —Slate
A poet, screenwriter, travel journalist, novelist, and writer of children’s books, George Mendoza (1934–2018) established himself as a top author of his day, publishing over 100 books for children and adults worldwide. In 1968, he was awarded the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award for his book The Hunter I Might Have Been. Ahead of his time in terms of packaging projects, his phenomenal energy, talent, and imagination were reflected in his many collaborations with celebrities such as Carol Burnett and Michel Legrand, renowned artists like Eric Carle and Norman Rockwell, and sports figures including Muhammad Ali and Ivan Lendl. Mendoza's love for sailing and trout fishing may be found in his editions of poetry, including Goodbye, River, Goodbye with photographs by George A. Tice. He lived most of his life in New York City with his wife, Ruth, and his children, Ashley and Ryan.


Author Residence: New York, NY

Author Hometown: New York, NY

Doris Susan Smith is the author of several children's books, including The Two Rabbits and The Travels of J.B. Rabbit.