Ever Wonder Who Once Lived
In An Abandoned House?
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?
Two children set off to find the answers by piecing together clues found, books left behind, forgotten photos, and discarded toys, creating their own vision of those who came before, in this deeply moving tale of imagination by Ezra Jack Keats Award–winning author Julie Fogliano and Caldecott Award–winning illustrator Lane Smith.
Details
Author: Julie Fogliano
Illustrator: Lane Smith
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (May 2018)
- Approx. Word Count: 538
- Pages:Â 48
- Ages: 3 – 6
My Thoughts
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“Deep in the woods / is a house / just a house / that once was / but now isn’t / a home.”
The colorful but muted illustration of trees, flowers, and a bird has a sketch of a house in the background. A boy and
girl tiptoe and creep up the winding, weed-covered path to the old house. But the door is stuck so they look around.
“Off to the side there’s a window / that’s watching. / A window that once opened wide. / A window that now has no window at all. / A window that says climb inside.”
The children slither through the opening and end up in a quiet, creaky, house. They whisper, though there
really isn’t a reason to.
When the children look around they see books, an animal’s bowl, keys, a mouse sticking its
head through a picture on the wall, a photo of a child, paints, and brushes, cooking supplies, and more.
They begin to wonder who lived there: perhaps a man who dreamed of the sea, a woman who loved to paint
in the garden, a cat who slept by the fire, or did the people run off and not say goodbye?
“Or what if they’re lost and they’re wandering lonely? Maybe they can’t find their set of house keys?”
The wondering and imagining continues until eventually the kids slip back out the window and head back down the path that snakes out of the woods through weeds and tangled thorns.
What Concerned Me
Though this is a beautiful book, it felt dark and gloomy to me. It even verged on creepy at times. I’m not sure how kids will feel about it. But, who knows, I could be overly sensitive.
What I Liked Most
The illustrations blend beautifully with the text. And the story does promote discovery and imagination.
Rating: ☆☆☆Â
About the Author
Julie Fogliano is the New York Times bestselling author of and then it’s spring and if you want to see a whale as well as the poetry collection When Green Becomes Tomatoes. Recipient of the 2013 Ezra Jack Keats award, her books have been translated into more than ten languages. Julie lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband and three children. When she is not folding laundry or wondering what to make for dinner, she is staring out the window waiting for a book idea to fly by.
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About the Illustrator
Lane Smith
Lane Smith is the author and illustrator of Caldecott Honor book Grandpa Green, runaway New York Times bestseller It’s a Book, Kate Greenaway Medalist There Is a Tribe of Kids, and A Perfect Day, among others. He was named the 2012 Carle Artist and received the 2014 Society of Illustrators lifetime achievement award. He lives in an old house in Connecticut with the designer Molly Leach.
Interview with illustrator Lane Smith
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