The Big House and the Little House by Yoshi Ueno, illustrated by Emiko Fujishima

Nostalgia can be a slippery slope. It’s easy to get caught up in remembered stories from childhood and conflate your own sentimental memories with quality or even popularity. If the only reason you’re keeping, teaching, or promoting a book in your library or school is because you loved it as a child (or your kids loved it when they were little) that’s a serious problem. Having said that, there are many books I loved as a child and when I have gone back to find them a surprising number were Asian imports from China or Japan. There’s a delicacy of line and a simplicity of text that seems to distinguish these picture books and my first reaction upon reading Big House and Little House was that it reminded me of the stories of my childhood.

Little Mouse lives in a little house by the river. Big Bear lives in a house by the tree. Every morning Little Mouse walks to town and Big Bear walks to the forest, in opposite directions, and so they never meet. Both are busy - and lonely. When they do finally meet, they cautiously become friends and plan to meet up the next week. But when next week comes, so does a big storm. Will their friendship hold firm through the wind and rain?

Fine lines curve through the rounded green trees, the trunks, bushes, and clouds, create the illusion of woodcuts. Bear is a chunky, pale brown with blue shirt and dark pants, Mouse a white and pink creature that matches her pastel house.

So, is this one that I love just for nostalgia or would it appeal to today’s children? It has a gentle message of friendship and helping others, and short, simple sentences that will appeal to young listeners. “Bear and Mouse had a great time together, but soon it was time to go home.” It has a little more text than I’d usually look for in a storytime book for very young children, and it doesn’t have the flash and pizzaz of many modern picture books, but it’s deeply satisfying.

Verdict: For listeners who like quieter, comforting stories, and those who are used to being read aloud to and will fall into the cadence of the story, this will be a new childhood favorite and a charming bedtime story. An additional purchase for libraries who have an audience for this style of classic read-aloud.

ISBN: 9781646140497; This edition published March 2021 by Levine Querido; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library