Call number
E F
Collection
Genres
Publication
Roaring Brook Press (2018), 48 pages
Description
Deep in the woods is a house, just a house, that once was--but now isn't--a home. Who lived in that house? Who walked down its hallways? Why did they leave it, and where did they go?
User reviews
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
Beautifully written and beautifully illustrated, A House That Once Was is a triumph of a picture-book, one that successfully evokes that feeling of childhood, of exploring a mysterious world that echoes with the sounds and shadows of those who came before. The poetic narrative follows some children
I found the text of A House That Once Was immensely engaging, stopping on every page to savor the words, and to marvel at particularly evocative phrases. A door "stuck between coming and going," a window "that's watching" - so many vividly descriptive moments, moments that capture that elusive feeling of breathless exploration. The artwork is just as engrossing, with a lovely color palette that manages somehow to be both vivid and muted, and a shifting sensibility that captures those in-between moments when children are stepping both through the real world and the imagined one. Details are given, on the colophon at the rear, about the different approaches Lane Smith used, in depicting the real vs. the imagined world. A gorgeous, beautifully-realized, poetic picture-book, this is one to add to my growing list of titles (see also: Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall and Ocean Meets Sky by the Fan Brothers) worthy of this year's Caldecott Medal! Recommended to young children who wonder about the history of the buildings around them, and of the people who used them, and to anyone who enjoys beautiful picture-books.
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as they explore an old, abandoned house, imagining who might have lived there, long ago. The artwork depicts their exploration of the here and now, and their imaginings of the then, in different mediums, emphasizing the subtle shifts between reality and possibility in the text.I found the text of A House That Once Was immensely engaging, stopping on every page to savor the words, and to marvel at particularly evocative phrases. A door "stuck between coming and going," a window "that's watching" - so many vividly descriptive moments, moments that capture that elusive feeling of breathless exploration. The artwork is just as engrossing, with a lovely color palette that manages somehow to be both vivid and muted, and a shifting sensibility that captures those in-between moments when children are stepping both through the real world and the imagined one. Details are given, on the colophon at the rear, about the different approaches Lane Smith used, in depicting the real vs. the imagined world. A gorgeous, beautifully-realized, poetic picture-book, this is one to add to my growing list of titles (see also: Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall and Ocean Meets Sky by the Fan Brothers) worthy of this year's Caldecott Medal! Recommended to young children who wonder about the history of the buildings around them, and of the people who used them, and to anyone who enjoys beautiful picture-books.
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LibraryThing member Whisper1
This is a book obtained from the local library. I like it so much that I will buy a copy to prominently display on my shelf of favorite illustrated books!
Two children discover an abandoned house while walking through the woods. This is a precious book, beginning with the phrase
"Deep in the woods
is
just a house
that once was
but now isn't
a home."
An incredible book that leaves the mind wandering throughout the journey with the young girl and boy. Their imaginations take them to the difference between a house and a home. As they see the leaning house, they note how much it is aging. The blue paint is peeled, the path is winding and the door is barely creaking open. Stuck in time the house invites the children to enter an unknown journey.
There are no intact windows, but air can softly enter the broken glass, and the children can have two points of entry -- a door, a window and the wonderment of what will be found inside.
Who lived there? Who ate the food? Who fell asleep in the living room on the chair? Were the inhabitants happy? Did they sing? Did they play? Did they read the books still left on the shelves? Does the house miss those who lived there?
Does the house have a life? Can it remember the sound of the Laugher? The Tears? The Joy? The Sadness?
As the children leave the woods and return to their own home, are they aware of the imprints they leave on their walls, in these halls? And, someday will another boy and girl visit their home and ponder about the memories the walls contain?
There once was a house deep in the woods
and, this house led to a journey of wonderment,
and the difference between what was, and what is.
Two children discover an abandoned house while walking through the woods. This is a precious book, beginning with the phrase
"Deep in the woods
is
Show More
a housejust a house
that once was
but now isn't
a home."
An incredible book that leaves the mind wandering throughout the journey with the young girl and boy. Their imaginations take them to the difference between a house and a home. As they see the leaning house, they note how much it is aging. The blue paint is peeled, the path is winding and the door is barely creaking open. Stuck in time the house invites the children to enter an unknown journey.
There are no intact windows, but air can softly enter the broken glass, and the children can have two points of entry -- a door, a window and the wonderment of what will be found inside.
Who lived there? Who ate the food? Who fell asleep in the living room on the chair? Were the inhabitants happy? Did they sing? Did they play? Did they read the books still left on the shelves? Does the house miss those who lived there?
Does the house have a life? Can it remember the sound of the Laugher? The Tears? The Joy? The Sadness?
As the children leave the woods and return to their own home, are they aware of the imprints they leave on their walls, in these halls? And, someday will another boy and girl visit their home and ponder about the memories the walls contain?
There once was a house deep in the woods
and, this house led to a journey of wonderment,
and the difference between what was, and what is.
Show Less
LibraryThing member nzlibrarygirl
Fabulous - a wonderful marriage of verse and image, both excellent intheir own right.
LibraryThing member sloth852
I loved the art in this story of kids exploring an abandoned house and imagining the lives of the people that had lived there before.
Awards
Buckaroo Book Award (Nominee — 2020)
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Nominee — Picture Books — 2020)
Evanston Public Library 101 Great Books for Kids (Picture Books — 2018)
Pages
48
ISBN
1626723141 / 9781626723146