In Victorian England, Grubb, an orphan about twelve years old, escapes his life of drudgery as a chimney sweep's apprentice and finds himself in a very strange house filled with magical objects and creatures, but soon he learns that there are dark forces seeking his new master.

A farmhouse provides the setting for a dozen children to live and grow, and when they leave, another family arrives to fill the house with love again.

Inside an old, abandoned house a mouse searches for a safe place to hide from a cat.

A wise man tells Ming Lo how to move the mountain away from his house.

A young boy named Alex enjoys the homes of both of his parents who live apart but love Alex very much.

"Young Jack meets a host of animals on his way to ask the king for a house"--

Deep in the woods is a house, just a house, that once was--but now isn't--a home. Who lived in that house? Who walked down its hallways? Why did they leave it, and where did they go?

An explorer mouse in search of China discovers that he must be careful to choose a new home that does not offend his sense of smell, sight, hearing, taste, or touch.

Just as Lewis the mouse is settling into his near-perfect home for the winter, still wondering what is missing, he hears noises and must roar to scare away whatever horrid creature is scratching and tapping at his tree.

Cumulative text reveals who was really responsible for the house that Jack claims to have built, and all of the trucks involved, from the bulldozer used to clear the land to the van that brought a hammock for the back yard.