Harry's Home

With a varied collection of cheery, ink-and-watercolor illustrations, the Anholts (The Big Book of Families) create warm picture postcards of both country and city life in this picture book about the meaning of home. Harry loves his family's city abode, surrounded by the whir of fire engines, escalators and people rushing through the big and small streets. But when Harry receives an invitation to visit his grandfather's farm in the mountains, he's eager to experience Grandad's way of life. Country living is too quiet and slow for Harry at first, but the fun begins when he learns to care for a newborn lamb and help with the farm chores. Harry soon feels (almost) right at home, but he still knows he's happiest in his familiar urban surroundings. The text's comforting tone and gentle pacing capture the feelings of young children who are just beginning to explore the bigger world and to establish their own place in it. Throughout, small spots of art, clever borders, expansive scenes of bucolic countryside and bustling cityscape, and tender close-up family portraits all work together to give readers a distinct sense of venue. Ages 3-6. (Apr.)