Holland (the mother land of my mother) is a place I associate with small things, from the narrow houses, to the propensity to add the diminutive ‘je’ to the end of words, to the miniature theme park called Madurodam, to the country itself. Because of this, I wasn’t at all surprised to learn that The Mouse Mansion was created by someone Dutch, Karina Schaapman. This volume of vignettes about two mouse friends and their adventures features photographs of an elaborate mouse doll house and its miniature mouse inhabitants. It’s just so Dutch.
Picture books with photographs of created worlds and characters are few and far between — the most famous in my mind is The Lonely Doll by Dare Wright, a strange and creepy story about Edith (the lonely doll), Little Bear, and Mr. Bear, which has captivated readers since it was published in 1957 – and yet created words and characters are the tools by which children make up their own stories. The Mouse Mansion inspired my craft partner and me to create our own mice characters, along with beds in which to transport them. Make your own … and then make up stories.
Books with Pictures and Words 