The House In The Night

A sweet night-time verse combines the safety and comfort of home with the wonder of the natural world, seen through the pages of a child's book.

The illustrations in this book were beautiful. This is a great bedtime story. The story is told in a rhyme similar to a nursery rhyme (This is the key of the kingdom/ In that kingdom is a city) as told in the authors notes. The story goes through the house and focuses on different bedtime items. It

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is told in a circular story, it began and ended the same. I really enjoyed this book. It would be a good way to illustrate circular stories to a class and have them write circular stories of their own. Good for grades 1-3.

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This is a great bedtime book for young readers because the story is intersting and the illustrations are simply wonderful.

A young girl is given a golden key to a house. There is a light, a bed and a book in the house. The text is simple. I believe that is a good book to read to young children at bedtime. I love the illustrations.

The House in the Night is a beautiful book that tells a minimal story with fantastic illustrations! The simple but lovely story really complements the detailed scratchbook art used by illustrator Beth Krommes.

The illustrations were beautiful and unusual.

The author and illustrator work together in perfect harmony to create the most lovely picture book. It is a story that builds on itself and this begins to reverse all the way back to the key. I loved that the book was used as the means of adventure and the means by which light was coming into the

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house. This story, while very simple, created a feeling of wonder and awe. The artist really outdid herself with these fantastic etchings! The use of only little bits of yellow on each page really followed the author's story line of light.

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This is an interesting book. It is of all black and white pictures that are illuminated by a single yellow glow of light on each page. The story seems to magnify and zero in on more details by starting with a key to a house and eventually speaking of the song in the bird that was in the book that

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was on the bed and on. I liked it more the second time reading it. The strength is obviously the illustrations. After all, it did win the Caldecott.

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Illustrations from this book are pleasant and soothing in their tri-color schematic: black, white and an orangey-yellow. They appear to be engravings that have had additional color (yellow) added after printing. These are beautiful in their simplicity. I read this book right after reading Wabi Sabi

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and I smiled to myself because here is a book that embodies that idea.

The story is less of a narrative but rather states the order of things from small (a key) to immense (the universe), showing a simple and yet easy the follow connection between these two extremes. In its simplicity is something very profound. Something the folks in charge of the Caldocott Award certainly saw.

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A gorgeous book with beautiful scratchboard and yellow ink artwork throughout. The style was whimsical yet refined alongside the simple and sweet writing. The writing was in the “one thing leads to another” style, but sometimes concrete things lead to things more abstract. A key, to a light, to

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a bird, to a song…We follow a child through the house out through the window on the back of a songbird through the beautiful night sky and eventually back to bed and tucked in by mom. I like that this also addressed nighttime making it a delight for the imagination rather then its usual monsters hideaway.

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Swanson tells a cute story of reassurance about nighttime and the illustrations are different and unique, which is why I believe this book won the Caldecott.

I loved the illustrations in the book; they were very whimsical and quite different from the typical children's storybook artwork. It reminded me a lot of classic stories such as the night before Christmas. The pacing seemed similar to nursery rhymes such as There was an Old Woman. The story was

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simple and seemed to be more like poetry than anything else but nonetheless it left the reader with a lasting impression.

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The text of this books reads almost as poetry. Describes the steps in the process of getting ready to go to bed. Very interesting picture- they are black and white scratchboard with hints of yellow highlighting different objects.

The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson, winner of the Caldecott Medal, features gorgeous black and white pictures with warm golden accents. The story shows a cumulative pattern of poetry, and the rhyme and repetition will make it a joy for young readers. This is great for pre-naptime in

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pre-k class or at home before bed. Older children would enjoy viewing this outstanding example of scratchboard.

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A good example of poetry because the simple verse leads the reader through the scene and surroundings of this house. This poem vaguely tells a story of establishing the setting. A building story is somewhat developed when a child is handed a key to their house by a parent. When noticing patterns

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within the objects in the room and naming them in sequential order by placement, the child finds comfort. There is a certain repetitive nature to the flow of the story that helps with early reading development.

Media: scratchboard and watercolo

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This book is a wonderful bed-time book for children. There are certain elements in the book that stand out on each page. The book is about a child who takes a flight during the night time. Very beautiful illustrations on every page. Story consists of warm feelings of home and family.

The House in the Night takes the reader on a journey beginning in a house and through a book ends up flying through the dark starry night. The story is very short and simple but leads the reader to use their imagination and see that anything is possible.

I liked the way the author uses short,

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descriptive sentences to lead the reader to the next adventure. The pictures are very captive and the use of yellow on a certain spot on each page really catches your eye and focus on the point in each sentence on the page.

I would use this as an introduction to helping students write their own creative short stories. Getting them to use their imagination and see that fantasy makes for good writing. Also, with the brilliant pictures used in this book, it would make for a great introduction to astrology or astronomy.

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I liked this book because there were certain elements that stood out more than others and they were highlighted in yellow. I think the black and white backdrop made the book very dramatic and made certain elements more important than others. It was very warm and inviting and gave me a sense of

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family.

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This a cute story told in a simple text that is similar to forms of poetry. This book could almost be considered as a bedtime story read but could extend into the classroom for younger classes. The story allows the reader to go beyond the walls of our homes to envision our imagination coming into

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reality. I could see a creative project come from reading this book in which the students would recreate their own "House In The Night' with their personal touches.

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This Caldecott Medal winner is a great bedtime story or even class read aloud for a younger group. It is about a young boy who takes an adventure around the town at night. The illustrations are wonderful and on every page, your attention is drawn to the yellow section on the black and white

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backdrop. I like this book because it is short, simple, and discriptive. It is different from most books because of the color choices. In a way it reminded me of Goodnight Moon.

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This very simple text is accompanied by a very simple illustration style - detailed, yet easy on the eyes. I love the white - on-black feel, with golden bits reminiscent of the moon and stars. There is a key on a hook next to a bed, near a book....and then the story takes on an adventure, but comes

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back again to the cozy bedroom, where the little girl is soundly asleep. So sweet.

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It is a good story and amazing illustrations. The story was about hope to me.

This is a cummulative story that begins with the father handing his child a key. The key leads to a house with a burning light, which leads to a room with a bed. The books continues in this way until it reaches the moon's face which shines the sun. From there, the story reverses and completes the

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story circle, beginning with the "sun in the moon" to "moon in the dark" and gradually ending with a "home full of light."

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A delightful story about imaginative perspectives on the connections between unassuming objects and big dreams. Very simple but powerful. Brilliant reduction prints detail every page, taking the reader from a cozy house to a glorious night sky adventure and back again.
Grades K-5. Group Read. Wide

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Appeal.
Positive: Great illustrations, creative imagination, simple text
Negative: short length.

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