The House in the Tree

About this book

Aglaia and Bianca live in a tree like no other. There are animals and fruits and all sorts of clever contraptions to make their tree house a real home. Aglaia feels like the luckiest girl in the world.

But even magical tree houses have to deal with nasty neighbours – grumpy Mr Brullo and the woodcutters threaten their peaceful existence, but Aglaia and Bianca are wily and won’t let anyone get in their way.

A totally surreal story that puts a new spin on a magical faraway tree. Here, there are domestic issues to be battled – unsavoury neighbours and overcrowded living spaces – but there is nothing dull about life in the tree.

Pitzorno’s story is full of surprises and there are some delightfully silly scenes with talking babies named after operas. Illustrations from the peerless Quentin Blake add some familiarity to this zany translation from a much celebrated Italian children’s author.