KATERINA GORELIK
Charley Mouse Cleans House
Text & illustrations copyright © 2025 Katerina Gorelik
Published in 2025 by Red Comet Press, LLC, Brooklyn, NY
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2024939781
ISBN (HB): 978-1-63655-141-8
ISBN (EBOOK): 978-1-63655-142-5
First Edition
Manufactured in China
Red Comet Press is distributed by ABRAMS, New York
RedCometPress.com
THE COZY TEAPOT
Charley Mouse loves cleanliness and order. Her bed linens smell of lavender, and her drawers are filled with clean socks. Even the cheese in her cupboard is organized by variety and size.
Keeping a house in order is not difficult for Charley. In fact it’s her job. And there is nothing that makes her happier than to help her neighbors, keeping their homes clean and tidy while doing something she loves.
Today is Monday, and Charley’s alarm clock says it’s time to get to work. She has a busy week ahead!
The Burrow
Off to the Burrow first! It’s an absolutely beautiful morning, but Charley Mouse has to plunge underground. The Mole family lives in the silence and darkness underneath the garden.
Cleaning up this labyrinth and not getting lost is quite a challenge! But the Mole family are so charming: all day they play hide-and-seek and chase earthworms. The earthworms must be bored with these games by now, but the Moles are simply crazy about them. Charley would love to join them, but there is too much cleaning to do!
“I bet it's here.“
Mama Mole has lost four keys and asks Charley to find them while cleaning.
“Armored pantry?!
“Dang! “ “ “
“Hello,
beautiful.
THE SWAMP
Off to the pond! She pops by the home of Mr. Snail, who is very secretive, to clean his sink. He never leaves his shell. Mr. Snail leaves a trail of goo, so cleaning his house can be very sloooooow. A very slippery guy, there’s no other way to describe him!
Frankly speaking, cleaning up in a swamp is hard because everything is damp and dank. And the noise drives her crazy! The Frogs with their deafening croaking and the constant humming and buzzing of insects everywhere. But luckily the Frogs’ house is small, and Charley usually manages to get around quickly.
Oops! It seems the idea to start with the toilet was not a good one . . . It’s better to first find all the scattered baby tadpoles.
THE DAPPER DEN
Tuesdays usually start with a visit to Mr. Fox, a charming gentleman with impeccable manners. Today he is going on a date, so Charley has the place all to herself. She cleans the whole den, with the exception of the bedroom, which Mr. Fox prefers to do himself. She thinks he’s probably embarrassed for her to see his nightwear and potty. As they say, a real gentleman!
Before leaving, Mr. Fox asked Charley to find the lost eggcup from the set.
Howling Hut
Charley Mouse spends the afternoon at the home of Mr. Wolf. He certainly doesn’t have the best reputation amongst the forest’s inhabitants: they say that he is to blame for the disappearance of three piglets and seven kids. However, as far as Charley knows, Mr. Wolf has long been an exemplary vegetarian! Every weekend he invites lambs and rabbits for cabbage pie.
There is always plenty of cleaning to do at his place. The only place Mr. Wolf forbids Charley to clean is the pantry. “Nothing interesting in there,” he says . . .
What a terrible mess! First, I’ll collect all the pairs of dirty socks.
SLEEPY TIME
C ows Sheep Pigs Boars
And then I’ll throw out all the empty cans.
It’s already Wednesday, which means Charley is done with her work in the Wild Wood. Time to move to the Magic Forest. She can’t wait to see how everyone is doing!
Wild Wood
Magic Forest
The Cauldron Cottage
Here comes the home of Madame Witch, certainly a hut with character: it decides when it’s time to tidy it up! Last time Charley Mouse managed to enter was a month ago, so there is a lot of cleaning to do. And cleaning the house can be a very dangerous thing because there are magic potions and strange mixtures everywhere. Rumor has it that Madame Witch loves to turn her guests into shoes. It’s hard to believe, but her shoe collection is truly impressive.
And she loves black cats . . . Eeek! They give Charley goosebumps. But Madame Witch sternly warned the cats that if they scare Charley, the number of shoes in her collection could increase . . .
If you use one of the magical flying brooms, cleaning becomes much easier and more fun!
I’ll find all the matching pairs of shoes in no time!
The Sweet Stable
On to her favorite spot. Although Charley Mouse is in awe of the Unicorns’ beautiful rainbow, the cleaning can be quite a handful. She has to polish the horns, wash the horse blankets, comb the ponytails, and hang all the horseshoes in pairs! But the Unicorns are simply lovely, extremely cheerful, and always in a good mood—which is not surprising given all the cotton candy they grow! This is probably why even their manure smells like strawberry jam.
One of the Unicorns asks Charley to find his favorite strawberry mug while cleaning.
“Well, let’s start with the unpleasant and end with cotton candy and ice cream!” said Charley Mouse.
Ugggh . . . Thursdays are long days for Charley. It’s a hard climb to get to Mr. Dragon’s home. He lives in an abandoned factory that’s high on a mountain. And his passion for hoarding greatly complicates Charley’s cleaning: his whole house is filled with a collection of rare eggs, costume jewelry, and knightly stuff. He often tells Charley how much he loves guests and how much fun they have at his place. Just now, he has left to pick up his next lady guest, who will stay with him for a couple of months.
The Flaming Factory
Mr. Dragon will be very grateful if Charley finds five red eggs from his collection.
Cinnamon Chalet
Fridays are sweet! Charley is off to the Gingerbread family’s house. You can find it with your eyes closed . . . just follow the smell of cinnamon and cloves! Every time Charley works there, she has to restrain herself from biting off a piece of the fence or the roof. But while cleaning, she always ends up sweeping up mountains of gingerbread crumbs and comes back home with a lot of delicious goodies!
The Gingerbread family is very nice and sweet. Although that’s why they have to live so deep in the forest—everyone wants to take a bite . . .
Gingerbread Mommy lost five cookie cutters and hopes that Charley can find them while cleaning.
Messy
THE COZY TEAPOT
The work week is finally over, and Charley Mouse heads home. Even when it’s your favorite job, you sometimes need a rest. But wait, it looks like someone still has to clean up their own place!
Looking on the bright side, this will give her the chance to find a lost alarm clock before starting the work week all over again!
KATERINA GORELIK
Katerina’s early career was as a practicing lawyer, but in 2011 she graduated with a degree in art and design, and since 2015 she has been illustrating children’s picture books. Her love of animals inspires her in the creation of her books. She has received several prestigious international awards, including a White Ravens selection. Her books have been published in more than eighteen languages. Katerina lives in London, England. Visit her at katerinagorelick.com.
WAYS TO USE THIS BOOK
Help Charley Mouse find the objects listed in the text.
Play counting games by pointing out objects that are the same, like all the eggs on a spread.
Which house would you most like to live in and why?
Journey with Charley Mouse to Wild Wood and the Magical Forest to explore the homes of some of your favorite fairy tales— and find hundreds of humorous little clues to how each of the characters live.
