A House Made of Books

About this book

Simon loves books. In fact, he loves them so much that he decides to build a house entirely made of books, and lives in it. 

Yet, when word gets around about Simon’s books, people start coming by to borrow them. Mr Plum borrows a book about gardening; Flossie borrows a baking book, and tiny Toby borrows a book about painting.  

Eventually, Simon’s house of books is so depleted that it topples to the ground. Simon is bereft – where will he live now? Fortunately, everyone who borrowed a book is there to rebuild Simon’s house to be better than ever. 

Frankie Gritton’s debut picture book is a charming homage to book collecting and book lovers. Simon lives alone, just needing his books for company, but the community around him is nevertheless there to look out for him when disaster strikes. 

There’s also a theme here about getting overwhelmed by helping other people, and the fact that we all sometimes need help to rest and recuperate when we have been giving too much. 

The illustration is stunning, with a soft and slightly quirky style reminiscent of classic picture book makers like Janet and Allan Ahlberg and David McKee.