The House

The House
by Patrick Lewis and Roberto Innocenti [j811 Lew]

There is a poem that runs through every other page of this book, but the illustrations tell just as much of the story. The poem centers round a house built in 1656, and we watch the passage of time through the years of 1900 to 1999. The house narrates the poem about itself, it's occupants and the historical events that affect them. The illustrations are all drawn from the same point of view so we can watch the changes occur page by page. After you've read it through it's fun to flip back and look for differences in the landscape, see how the residents grow up, and see the house get tended to, fall to disrepair, then get found again. This book is the children's section of the library but could be enjoyed by any age or as a book to read together. Whether you enjoy poetry, history, art, or any combination of those, I suggest you pick this one up – it's a wonderful book. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Castles by J. Patrick Lewis j811 Lew.] -- recommended by Kristen A. - Gere Branch Library


[ official J. Patrick Lewis web site ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!