Review by Booklist Review
Henkes begins with a simple image and text announcing, "a house." The next page, however, invites readers to actively participate in the story, presenting questions about colors and shapes, which quickly become more complex considerations about the locations of objects, visual action elements, time of day, and size comparisons. Next, the house is depicted in a variety of seasons and weather conditions. Using brown ink, watercolor, and colored pencils, Henkes varies each image but keeps the overall design uncluttered. His use of a muted color palette and ubiquitous birds could be viewed as an homage to the late, great Tomie dePaola. A change comes suddenly in the last pages, where the text signals the shift with a declarative, "Look!" Rounded people who look like toys with pink, blue, and green skin tones arrive and go inside. What started as a fun, interactive visual exercise ends up with a gentle message about family and what truly makes a house a home.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Eschewing a more traditional story arc in this volume, Henkes (Sun Flower Lion) creates multiple images of a dwelling--a tiny, boxlike structure with a pink tiled roof, a round window, and a blue chimney--and offers a series of questions about them. "Where is the door? What color is it?" the narrator asks after introducing the house. "Where is the window? What shape is it?" As the pages turn, the sun rises and sets, and the house weathers rain and snow ("So much snow! Where is the house?"). Toward book's end, a multicolored, peg doll--style family appears with a dog and cat. Now that it has people in it, the house receives a new label: "A home." The questions suggest how much there is to observe about the very simplest things, and how a single scene can inspire many exchanges: "Where are the clouds? Which one is smallest? Where are the puddles? Which one is biggest?" The limited scope of this world--the house, the single-frame storms, even the simply rendered dog and cat--adds further charm to this bite-size creation that's rooted in noticing. Ages 4--8. (Sept.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K--In a style that resembles the simple elegance of Tomie dePaola's work, and with a narrative arc that has the emotional heft of Pam Conrad's The Tub People, this story follows a house that undergoes a transformation. A gentle narrator guides children through the pages. First, there is just the house. The questions begin: "Where is the door? What color is it? Where is the window? What shape is it?" This approach turns young onlookers into active participants as the house stands through morning and night, above puddles but below clouds, through rain and snow. When small, toy-like people and pets of various rainbow hues line up outside the house's blue door before filing in, there is a shift that is subtle but sacred; the house becomes "home." VERDICT As in Sun, Flower, Lion, Henkes continues to whittle away all but the essentials in his life lessons for preschoolers, and the result is accessible and resonant.--Kimberly Olson Fakih, School Library Journal
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Review by Horn Book Review
Meet a house created out of simple forms and sturdy lines and nestled within a bordered square in a solid pastel blue space. The text ("A house") is placed on the page opposite the image, centered in abundant white space. As we turn pages, images and text alternate between recto and verso as the background colors shift. The house remains our focus throughout as elements around it change: we see the house in the morning, at night, with the sun, with the moon, in rain and snow, and more. Henkes uses the question-and-answer format to invite readers into the story ("Where are the puddles? Which one is biggest?"), and the questions prompt discussions about concepts such as shapes, the passage of time, counting, weather, colors, and size differences. When a family (complete with a dog and cat), rendered as simply shaped toy figurines, approaches and enters the house, it becomes a "home." While perfect for children at the very earliest stages of literacy, the book also works as a read-aloud to share with toddlers. Phrases and sentences are plainly constructed ("Where is the sun? Is it up?"), and illustrations and text work in concert to engage readers and listeners. The pacing and palette are gentle; the compositions are uncluttered and eye-catching; the style conveys Henkes's (2020 winner of the Children's Literature Legacy Award) signature elegance; and the ending will have children pondering precisely what makes a "house" a "home." Brilliant. Julie Danielson September/October 2021 p.68(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
When does a house become a home? A perky little house is festooned with birds in the morning and stars at night. The window over the pale blue door is as round as the full moon shining brightly in the night sky. The little house is rained upon and snowed upon, and throughout all of this the text refers to it as simply "the house." Questions prompt readers to talk about the house and what's around it. But despite the inviting white clapboard siding and the rose tiled roof, the house sits quite alone on its green, flowerless lawn. Round windows, rectangular doors, sunny days, rainy days--nothing seems to be what it takes for the great transformation. Wait, is that a dog? Look, a cat! They're heading toward the house, and they're not alone. Five human figures, three tall, two small, and all reminiscent of Playskool toys, enter the house. Soon there are flowerpots by the door, flowers in the garden, and faces smiling through the window--a home! Caldecott and Legacy winner Henkes has put together a charmingly and deceptively simple interactive book that helps young readers identify shapes, delve into the concept of counting, and recognize meteorological phenomena. The soft colors and gentle questions serve to invite participation rather than coerce it. (This book was reviewed digitally.) The uncomplicated format and artwork make this a sweet mindfulness exercise. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
