This Old House

In this picture book, illustrator Leo Hartas removes the front wall of a five-story building and paints the frenetic lives he finds inside. In his own imaginative style he introduces us to the 20 people, several cats and myriad other animals that live there. We enter the apartment block early in the morning, and with each turn of the page, move through the day. The visit finishes in the small hours of the following morning when most of the inhabitants (but not quite all) are asleep. The book tells the story of Dot Splot the artist, Professor Algebrus the inventor, Miss Stella Starspangle and Deirdre Dibble, three families and the caretakers in the basement. While the humans are busy, many animals are weaving their part of the story too.