School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2--Just like people have memories of the places where they spent their childhoods, this old house is full of memories of families who lived there. It stands firm as the world changes around it. Families come and go until one day, the house stands empty and quiet. As readers turn the pages, the joyful summer scenes change, and with that comes remembrances of bygone days tinged with nostalgia for past families--especially the children--and reflection. The text is simple but makes readers pause, reflect, and think of their own memories and the places that provided them warmth and shelter. Vibrant but gentle illustrations done in monoprinting, watercolor, and digital collage are mesmerizing as well as tactile. There is the wind blowing, the warmth of sunshine, the laughter of children, and the scent of cake fresh out of the oven. Eventually, a family whose members have skin tones in various shades of brown. Even when the house is empty, both illustrations and text are reassuring. VERDICT A visual history of a home, full of longing, and a powerful story of hope and reassurance.--Noureen Qadir-Jafar, Roosevelt Lib., NY
Publisher's Weekly Review
Joining a growing shelf of picture books about dwellings that witness generational change, this quiet story by Ray (The Friendship Book) stars an old white saltbox house that has long been occupied by families. In monoprinting, ink, watercolor, and collage, Goodale (Under the Lilacs) creates its builders, a white turn-of-the-century family with children and a black-and-white sheepdog, and offers snapshots of later occupants from whom "the house learned about babies being born and babies growing up... about bedtime stories and birthday parties." Now, though, the house stands empty. Suspense builds as families come to look, then leave. Lyrical lines that convey a sense of calm linger over the house's loneliness; paint peels, and ghostly silhouettes of imagined children run over the lawn. Feathery spreads full of changing grass and leaves reflect the home's consciousness of seasonal change: "The house welcomed back the green time and every green smell, too." Most of the book's attention is on time slowly elapsing, a facet that builds carefully to fulfillment, involving a family of color, that radiates forward and backward in time. Ages 4--8. Author's agent: Rick Margolis, Rising Bear Literary. Illustrator's agent: Lori Kilkelly, Rodeen Literary. (Apr.)
