“This House, Once”

The author Deborah Freedman was once an architect.  Her story “This House, Once” deconstructs a house so the reader can explore how all the elements of a home come together.Beautifully illustrated by the author using pencil, and watercolors, her drawings are soft and dreamy.

Beginning with the front door, the reader is told that the door was “once a colossal oak tree about three hugs around and as high as the blue.” And there it is–the huge colossal oak with the front door in its trunk.  From the door, the author next explains where the stone foundation comes from–deep underground beneath the leaves.

Each element of the house is discussed.  Until it rises from the page complete.  The house then dreamily remembers where each part of it came from, once.

“This House, Once” is a good choice for a one-on-one read.  Each part of the house’s construction can be discussed and then discussed again as the reader sees where in the natural world the element was found.