• Age: 3 to 7
• Grade: p to 2
• Reading age: 3 to 7

In this bustling picture book, Mr. Postmouse carefully loads up his wagon and sets off to make the day's mail deliveries to all the animals on his route. Via cross-section drawings, readers get to peer inside each home Mr. Postmouse stops at, and every one is different, depending on the animals who live there. For example, there's a hole in the middle of the kitchen floor of the Rabbits' home that leads underground to where they sleep and eat. Mr. Snake's superlong home has heat lamps throughout its length. The Birds live in a tree house, and Mrs. Octopus in a sunken shipwreck. Mr. Bear's house has a beehive on the roof with an attached pipe that brings honey straight into the kitchen. Furnishings in Mrs. Fly's home are stuck to the ceiling.

Award-winning author and illustrator Marianne Dubuc is a master at clever, specific details in her drawings to bring each fully imagined animal and dwelling to life on the page. Though more whimsical and tongue-in-cheek than true, this is a terrific book for teaching children about the characteristics and diversity of animal life, including their habitats, their needs, how they live and what they eat. And it's also loads of fun. With so much going on across every spread, children will love poring over the pages on their own, discovering something new every time. Children are also likely to be inspired to create their own made-up stories about what activities are going on in each of the animal's homes in the book.

Marianne Dubuc studied visual arts and graphic design before beginning her career as an award-winning author and illustrator. In Front of My House, originally published in French as Devant ma maison , is her first book to be published in English. Marianne lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Marianne Dubuc's profile page

• Winner, Best Books for Kids & Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre
• Winner, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award for Children's Picture Books, Ontario Arts Foundation
• Joint winner, Blue Ribbon - Picture Book Category, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
• Winner, Best Picture Books of 2015, Kirkus Reviews

This charming book begs to be reread to further delight in all the enchanting details.

School Library Connection

Like a mailbox overstuffed with gifts, Dubuc's animal scenes are a delight and well worth the wait.

Kirkus Reviews, starred review

It is a flexible book that would accommodate different uses, such as a lovely bedtime story, an early introduction to postal services, or a good imagination-starter...

CM Magazine

Variety and detail, humour and home life will make this stand up to multiple viewings.

Toronto Star

... young readers will want to start again, savoring every tiny detail.

Booklist

Every time we read this book, we noticed new things in the drawings. Fantastic!

Globe and Mail

... Dubuc has created a tiny, perfect, mouse-sized universe.

Montreal Review of Books