This is Our House

Michael Rosen, Bob Graham (illus)
Walker Books 
Age 3-7

George wants to keep the cardboard play house all to himself. He doesn’t want to share it and makes up lots of instant rules to justify why others can’t enter eg no glasses, no girls, no twins allowed…

A resolution is found when George finds out for himself what it’s like to be excluded. It’s a valuable lesson for George and a good opportunity to empathise with this common childhood (and human) experience.

 

 

 

Share the story

Read aloud
Before reading the story, encourage children to look at the cover and to talk about where it is taking place and what they think it will be about. Then read through the story, pausing before the end to talk about what their solution to the problem would be and what they would  like to happen at the end.

Join in
As you read and reread the book, encourage children to join in where they can. Their confidence and enjoyment will grow as you revisit the book together and they become more familiar with the story and story language.

Talk about the story
Talk together about which part of the story children like best and why. Why do they think George wanted to keep everyone out of the house? Has something like this ever happened to them? How was it resolved?

Tell the story
Using the pictures in the book, children can retell the story in their own words.

Watch the story here

Things to make and do

Make a house
Use a large cardboard box to make a house to play in. Decorate the outside with a door and windows, and maybe some plants. Gather some props, a blanket a teddy, a saucepan and use it to welcome visitors and create stories.

Draw your home
Using coloured pencils, pens, paint or crayons, children can create picture of their own home. They can add a drawing and names of the people and animals who live there.

Make a map
Children can make a map of their bedroom, as if looking down from the ceiling. They can label the furniture, door, window and anything else they think is important to include. It can help to look at examples, either on the internet or one you have drawn of another room at home.

Draw a portrait
Children can draw a portrait of a friend and write all the reasons they like them in the space around their picture.

Find out more

Read more books by Michael Rosen here

Titles include:

* We’re Going On A Bear Hunt

Little Rabbit Foo Foo

Happy Harry’s Café

Snore!

Totally Wonderful Miss Plumberry

Poems for the Very Young

Night-Night, Knight, and other poems

* See more lovemybooks ideas

 Find out more about homes around the world here