Features detailed, bas-relief collage spreads of dwellings in other world regions and historical times to explain how different people live and have lived, from a village house in South Africa to a floating green house in the Netherlands.

Four children, a cat, and a dog move to a tree, a raft, a cave, and finally the seashore, enjoying each new dwelling until they discover its drawbacks.

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

"A child realizes that while houses around the world may be very different, they are all alike when a friend asks you in"--

Text and illustrations depict the different types of houses lived in by children all over the world. On each page "This is my house" will appear in the appropriate native language.

When Cocoa decides to explore the house, Cowgirl Kate has a hard time convincing him he must return to the barn.

Describes what it would be like to live in a house on a mountain, by the sea, above a bakery, underground, and in other wonderful places.

Rhyming text celebrates the many parts of a house, from the floor and its welcome mat to the walls, windows, stairs, and roof.

"Five siblings worry that their shabby old house isn't 'proper' enough, but come to see that it's perfect just the way it is"--

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Pudmuddle move into their backwards house where they live happily until they discover certain deficiencies--there is no basement and the roof has blown off.