Week six, and counting, at least in my neck of the woods. How’s everyone holding up? Or should I write “holing up”, as we all hole-up in our respective homes? Luckily, before the library closed, I stocked up on quite a few picture books, including the two I’m pairing today about, you guessed it, different houses. Enjoy!
The Full House and the Empty House
Author & Illustrator: LK James
Publisher/Date: Ripple Grove Press/2019
Ages: 4-7
Themes: houses, belongings, differences, inequality, friendship
Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):
The Full House and the Empty House are very good friends— when they dance they admire in each other the qualities they lack within themselves. Even though the houses are different on the inside, it doesn’t reflect how they feel on the outside. The bathroom of the full house
was full of many bathroom-y things. There was a big bathtub with gold clawed feet, a sink shaped like a seashell, a hairbrush and comb made of bone, and cakes of lilac soap. In the bathroom of the empty house was just a toilet and a sink. In the evening when the two houses
grew tired of dancing, they would rest on the hillside and look out at the world together.
Read a review at Kirkus Reviews and one by Betsy Bird at School Library Journal.
The One Day House
Author: Julia Durango
Illustrator: Bianca Diaz
Publisher/date: Charlesbridge/2017
Ages: 3-7
Themes: intergenerational, house, beautifying, volunteerism, neighbors
Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Wilson dreams of all the ways he can help improve his friend Gigi’s house so that she’ll be warm, comfortable, and happy.
One day, friends and neighbors from all over come to help make Wilson’s plans come true. Everyone volunteers to pitch in to make Gigi’s house safe, clean, and pretty.
Inspired by a friend’s volunteerism, author Julia Durango tells a story of community and togetherness, showing that by helping others we help ourselves. Further information about Labor of Love, United Way, and Habitat for Humanity is included at the end of the book.
Read a review at Kirkus Reviews.
I paired these books because they both explore houses. In The Full House and the Empty House, the houses themselves are the main characters, and, despite their differences, find joy and friendship with each other. By contrast, in The One Day House, young Wilson dreams of how he can fix up his elderly neighbor’s once majestic home and restore its former beauty. Both books provide glimpses into how we inhabit homes, an apt topic as we currently spend so much time in them.
Looking for similar reads? See my recent pairing of Home in the Woods and Home is a Window.
Wander, Ponder, Write 