A House That Once Was

Reviewed by: Connie Smith - Breakwater School, Pportland, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: November 12, 2018

Review

This book is a story about a boy and a girl who discover a house "that once was but now isn't a home." With trepidation, they carefully enter this abadoned house in a forest. Soon they begin to discover clues about the people who might have once lived there. And they wonder if the old house is still waiting for the owners to someday return. As they visualize the people who might have lived there the illustrations become fully painted and better defined. The old house itself, on the other hand, is sketched with many areas of white portraying a feeling of emptiness, When they are finished exploring and imaginging, the children return to their own home that is both cozy and warm, where dinner is waiting.

A good book to broaden a child's pondering and imaginging about the "live" of old houses.

This story makes the point that it is the people who live in the house that make a house a home. Illustrated by Caldecott honor artist Lane Smith.

Overall Book Score: very good