Mr Rouse Builds His House

Stefan Themerson

Mr Rouse Builds His House
Format
Hardback
Publisher
Tate Publishing
Country
United Kingdom
Published
3 October 2013
Pages
148
ISBN
9781849761543

Mr Rouse Builds His House

Stefan Themerson

Mr Rouse has decided to build himself a house. Inevitably, the process is much longer and more detailed than Mr Rouse initially envisages:  Mr Builder, I’m not a bird, you know; how could I live in a house made of leaves?

This quirky tale takes the reader through a timeline of inventions. In a wonderful blend of absurd poetry and British pragmatism, Mr Rouse contends with housing, transport, lighting, plumbing and timekeeping, encountering quarrelling stairs and dapper guttering on his way.

Review

What this little book lacks in stature it more than makes up for with content. One hundred and forty-four pages, to be exact, with 122 quaint illustrations.

Originally published in Poland in 1938, it follows a very polite Mr Rouse as he plans his new home. He learns a lot in the process and so do we, as the story skips along with a curious mix of prose and verse. In this age of technological gadgetry, this book seems absurdly antiquated and yet pretty much everything inside is as relevant today as it was over 70 years ago.

This is a little book for small hands but don’t be fooled, there’s a lot going on here. Ages 4 and up will enjoy Mr Rouse.


Alexa Dretzke

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