By Mariajo Ilustrajo (author) , Mariajo Ilustrajo (illustrator)
"The most endearing mice and their adventures with new human neighbours."
Paperback In Stock £7.99 £7.19
Hardback In Stock £12.99 £11.69
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April 2026 Book of the Month
This might be the best mouse story since Emily Gravett’s Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears and it represents something of a departure for this award winning author, incorporating mixed media and cut out and fold out elements, all of which add gloriously to the fun.
The titular guests are humans moving into a house inhabited by an extensive mouse family, who are most alarmed by the news. They have heard Uncle Rupert’s scary stories about humans and the way they force mice to run in wheels. But this does not put off our intrepid narrator and some of his friends, who go up above to investigate (full page spreads split horizontally with the brown floorboards showing the action above and below) and they find the ‘most extravagant, curious, and fun human things’ ( and readers will delight in spotting what the mice do with these common household objects).
There is such ‘yummy human food,’ that they go back the next night, only for our narrator to be caught by an equally curious little girl. When the troop attempt a rescue, they all end up trapped, but discover the little girl has created the ultimate mouse ‘paradise’ for them from cardboard boxes and the like. But their fun is brought to an abrupt end with the arrival of a fearsome cat.
This ever so slightly subversive tale is a delight, with the exuberant voice of the narrator and his comic asides a joy to read aloud. Even the most rodent averse cannot help but fall for these little guys.
Shortlisted for Illustrator of the Year - British Book Awards 2025,
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From the internationally best-selling author and illustrator, Mariajo Ilustrajo, comes an interactive page-turner of a picture book. Providing a playful, surprising twist on the classic "unexpected guest" premise, the narrative here is flipped, making humans the unexpected guests in a tale told by mice!
The mice living happily under the floorboards of a house find their peace is disturbed by some unexpected guests . . . humans! The mice are curious about their guests and set out to investigate. They find weird and wonderful human objects and lots of food, so they decide their guests might not be so bad after all - until our intrepid mouse narrator finds himself caught in a jar!
His friends try to save him but get caught too, and they fear the worst, but they're set free from the jar . . . and into a cardboard Mouse Land. The humans aren't so bad after all! But, for the final twist, the mice discover there is one last guest to deal with - and it's even worse than humans: a CAT!
Providing a full interactive picture book experience, Unexpected Guests features a clever gatefold device that reveals the mice in their home under the floorboards, while die cut holes can be found on the front and back cover. These elements elevate the fast-paced and funny story and bring to life Mariajo's irresistible artwork, resulting in what is sure to become a firm family favourite.
Praise for I Love Books:
‘Witty treat’ - Mail on Sunday
Mariajo Ilustrajo is a multi-award-winning author-illustrator based in the UK. Her debut Flooded published in 2022 to widespread global acclaim: it was sold into 22 languages, won a score of prestigious literary prizes and received glowing international reviews. Her second and third books Lost (2023) and I Hate Love Books (2024) were published to the same fanfare, both shortlisted for Carnegie Medals for Illustration, with her fourth book Oh, Carrots publishing in paperback in 2026, alongside new picture book Unexpected Guests .
Mariajo loves to cook and to draw, and fills dozens of sketchbooks with her daily scribbles.
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Shortlisted for Illustrator of the Year - British Book Awards 2025, From the internationally best-selling author and illustrator, Mariajo Ilustrajo, comes an interactive page-turner of a picture book. Providing a playful, surprising twist on the classic "unexpected guest" premise, the narrative here is flipped, making humans the unexpected guests in a tale told by mice! The mice living happily under the floorboards of a house find their peace is disturbed by some unexpected guests . . . humans!
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Unexpected Guests and determined it is suitable for children aged 3-8 years old
Unexpected Guests features in the following genres: Featured Books for 3+ readers, Featured Books for 5+ readers, Featured Books for 7+ readers, Books of the Month, Recommendations, Star Books, Funny, Animal Stories, Picture books: character books, Picture storybooks, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Children’s picture books, Children’s: picture books, activity books, early learning concepts
Paperback, Hardback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
Unexpected Guests was written by Mariajo Ilustrajo and published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Unexpected Guests has 48 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
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