Once there was just air and grass and mud. Now it has turned into a real house.

Building a mudbrick house is an adventure for everyone – Mum, Dad, kids and even Tess, the family dog! Heading out to the block to help make bricks and seeing their house take shape week by week is such great fun that the children decide Tess needs her own house too…

With warmth, sensitivity and liveliness in words and pictures, this book recreates the fun – and work! – of a special family experience: building your own unique house. A House of Mud will delight children and parents/carers alike with its vibrant illustrations and loving tales of family life.

Sophie Masson was born in Indonesia to French parents and brought up in France and Australia. She is the multi-award-winning and internationally published author of over 60 books for children, young adults and adults. Her latest books (all 2019) include children’s historical novel War and Resistance (Scholastic Australia) as well as three picture books: There’s A Tiger Out There, illustrated by Ruth Waters (Little Hare); On My Way, illustrated by Simon Howe, (Scholastic Australia) and Join the Armidale Parade, illustrated by Kathy Creamer (Little Pink Dog Books). A House of Mud is based on Sophie and her family’s experience of building their own mudbrick house near Armidale in northern NSW – an experience which included the lively involvement of her children and the family dog, Tess!

Katrina Fischer is a children's book illustrator based on the beautiful Bellarine Peninsula, in Victoria Australia. She studied Fine Art at the University of Ballarat (Federation Uni) and she holds a postgraduate degree in Visual Communication Design from Deakin University. Katrina works from her home studio, illustrating for a range of clients and aims to convey a sense of emotion, playfulness and tenderness in her illustrations, which can be seen in her chosen subjects and individual illustrative style. Working in traditional mediums, she creates her illustrations using coloured pencil, graphite, watercolour, ink and gouache. Her style can be described as detailed, classic and realistic. Katrina enjoys creating images of beauty and finds it wonderfully satisfying when her work connects with people and brings joy to the viewer.