This riches to rags to riches again story is utterly charming. Mr and Mrs Mice and their thirteen children live happily in a dolls’ house in a grand castle; apart from having one wall missing, their house is rather grand too, with plenty of room for them all. In Emily Sutton’s gorgeous illustrations their home is full of little details that will fascinate young readers; not since Beatrix Potter either, have mice looked so fine, and yet so very mouse-like, in smart hats and coats. The adventure unfolds perfectly over the length of the book as the mice lose their home, but happily regain it, and there’s a lovely rhythm to the story, told with such apparent ease and so much skill by Michael Bond. A treat! ~ Andrea Reece
The Earl's Castle is home to a magnificent doll's house, and inside lives a family of mice. Mr and Mrs Perk and their thirteen children live happily together and work hard to maintain their splendid home. But one day their beloved doll's house is taken away...
Full of humour and warmth, this nostalgic tale by Michael Bond, the author of Paddington Bear, and is brought to life with exquisite detail by Emily Sutton.
Michael Bond 13 Jan 1926 - 28 June 2017. Born in Newbury, Berkshire, England he was educated at Presentation College, Reading. During World War II Michael Bond served in both the Royal Air Force and the Middlesex Regiment of the British Army. He began writing in 1945 and sold his first short story to a magazine called London Opinion. This experience helped him decide that he wanted to be a writer.
Michael Bond never thought of writing for children but, after producing a number of short stories and radio plays, his agent suggested that he adapt a television play for children. His first book, A Bear Called Paddington, was published in 1958 by William Collins & Sons (now HarperCollins Publishers). At the time, Michael Bond was working as a television cameraman for the BBC.
After the first Paddington book was accepted, Michael Bond went on to write a whole series and by 1967 his books were so successful that that he was able to give up his job with the BBC in order to become a full-time writer.
In 2015, Michael was awarded a CBE for his services to children’s literature, to add to the OBE he received in 1997.
In 1997 Michael Bond was awarded an OBE for services to children’s literature and this was followed by a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2015.
For the last 37 years of his life Michael Bond lived in London, not far from Paddington Station where it all began. He continued to write until shortly before he died on 27th June 2017, aged 91.
