A House

Eschewing a more traditional story arc in this volume, Henkes (Sun Flower Lion) creates multiple images of a dwelling—a tiny, boxlike structure with a pink tiled roof, a round window, and a blue chimney—and offers a series of questions about them. “Where is the door? What color is it?” the narrator asks after introducing the house. “Where is the window? What shape is it?” As the pages turn, the sun rises and sets, and the house weathers rain and snow (“So much snow! Where is the house?”). Toward book’s end, a multicolored, peg doll–style family appears with a dog and cat. Now that it has people in it, the house receives a new label: “A home.” The questions suggest how much there is to observe about the very simplest things, and how a single scene can inspire many exchanges: “Where are the clouds? Which one is smallest? Where are the puddles? Which one is biggest?” The limited scope of this world—the house, the single-frame storms, even the simply rendered dog and cat—adds further charm to this bite-size creation that’s rooted in noticing. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)