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sasha_in_a_box's review
4.0
Lovely book visually - absolutely stunning beginning and ending. The middle part was kind of strange and didn't quite fit with the glory of the imaginative beginning and I wish was better, but still wonderful!
readwriterobyn's review
3.0
“A House That Once Was” is a somewhat-melancholy story about two children who explore an abandoned house and imagine who used to live there before it fell into disarray. They use clues from the different rooms - pictures, toys, food - to piece together a little story of the former occupants before heading home themselves.
As a reader, I enjoyed the illustrations more than the poetry, which felt a little more forced than lyrical. The pictures - a charming mixture of art styles, cut-out text, and almost-real photos - were reminiscent of the “I Spy” puzzle books I used to love as a kid. It was a treat finding the images that were hinted at in the story.
In my opinion, it was challenging to read aloud. I think this was due to breaking the stanzas across multiple pages, a meter that wasn’t quite consistent, and the heavy use of pararhymes, which often created a challenging sentence structure.
The story itself is charming with a good buildup as the children weave different lives for the former occupants. Unfortunately, it left me more melancholy than warm. It’s clear that the family who used to live in the house had to leave quickly and that they never returned. I could only hope that the children whose toys remain in the house made it out okay and lived happily ever after.
Is this a good book for kids?
1 - Poetry can be a little tough to read aloud and follow.
2 - The imagery is mysterious, colorful, and fun.
3 - The story promotes exploration and imagination.
As a reader, I enjoyed the illustrations more than the poetry, which felt a little more forced than lyrical. The pictures - a charming mixture of art styles, cut-out text, and almost-real photos - were reminiscent of the “I Spy” puzzle books I used to love as a kid. It was a treat finding the images that were hinted at in the story.
In my opinion, it was challenging to read aloud. I think this was due to breaking the stanzas across multiple pages, a meter that wasn’t quite consistent, and the heavy use of pararhymes, which often created a challenging sentence structure.
The story itself is charming with a good buildup as the children weave different lives for the former occupants. Unfortunately, it left me more melancholy than warm. It’s clear that the family who used to live in the house had to leave quickly and that they never returned. I could only hope that the children whose toys remain in the house made it out okay and lived happily ever after.
Is this a good book for kids?
1 - Poetry can be a little tough to read aloud and follow.
2 - The imagery is mysterious, colorful, and fun.
3 - The story promotes exploration and imagination.
waterviolite's review
3.0
Stumbling on a deserted house, the characters wonder who used to live there. This book is sweet, but I found the sponge-painted illustrations to overwhelm the words at the beginning and end of the story. I feel it would make more sense if the sponge-painted illustrations were used to represent the children's imagination and the more realistic style from the middle to the story was used to show what was really happening in the outside world.
nicktomjoe's review
5.0
Two children explore an empty house and speculate on its past inhabitants. A lilting text and beautiful, spare colours make this a book to treasure, to return to and savour: child and adult readers alike will find things to ponder in these lost lives and in the eager faces of the two young explorers.
froydis's review
5.0
This is quite poignant! Parents will get the symbolism, and kids will enjoy the adventure. We've all wondered "who lives in that house?" This book addresses that curiosity with a lilting, catchy rhyme kids will enjoy. This is another great story time book!
shighley's review
4.0
Lyrical writing and illustrations that would be interesting to ask students about: how would you try to create them, and why are they different from the imagined ones? I guess I was hoping for more answers, but maybe that's the point: we'll never know.
missprint_'s review
5.0
Gorgeous. I love that Smith's artwork is always changing and evolving. Fogliano's text is beautiful and lilting. The opening and closing pages reminded me of a villanelle or Annabelle Lee. Lovely all around.
kwbat12's review
4.0
So interesting as a picture book for olders. There's a tone that reads older as these kids discover an adandoned house.