Poor Bear has a mouse in his house that just won’t go. He’s tried tempting the mouse to more exotic climes with travel brochures, but the mouse is having none of it: instead, Mouse puts on karaoke shows, dresses up in marvellous costumes, eats all the food and makes the bath overflow. Worst of all, Mouse invites his friends around, and they’re all AWFUL… oh, they’re quite nice, actually.

 

Collins’ adorable story about an unwelcome guest is delightfully clearly laid out with minimal, large sized text that supports but never overwhelms his lovely crayon-outlined bear and the colourful little mice in all their wonderful detail. We really feel for Bear, who has a tremendously expressive face, even though Mouse does seem like quite a lot of fun from the start: it’s a great message about tolerance and looking beyond first impressions as well as a super fun rhyming picture book.