Mouse Mansion 1: Sam and Julia by Karina Schaapman

Beatrix Potter meets I Spy in this detailed and charming storybook adventure about two mice who love to explore every nook and cranny in the large apartment house in which they live.

Karina Schaapman is a Dutch wife, mother and politician. Mouse Mansion is based on the real-life Mouse Mansion, which she created. The mansion is made from cardboard boxes and papier-mache, and it has more than a hundred rooms, corridors and outdoor spaces. For the interior, Karina used vintage fabrics from the fifties, sixties and seventies plus various types of waste material. Mouse Mansion includes many autobiographical moments from Karina's life as well as her husband's. Karina says: 'I was inspired by bringing up my own four (now grown) children. Their development made me see what is important to children, such as building huts, sharing secrets, love and being looked after. But also learning that looking different or experiencing different customs and rituals does not have to be threatening, but that you can learn from your neighbours, that they enrich you.'