The Blue House
by Phoebe Wahl
Alfred A. Knopf, 2020. 36 pages.
Review written September 9, 2020, from a library book
Starred Review
2020 Sonderbooks Standout:
#8 Fiction Picture Books
Here’s a picture book about having to move from a much loved house. It’s done with sensitivity and particularity that’s just lovely.
We meet Leo and his Dad. I like that Leo is a boy with long hair. They live in an old blue house with leaks and creaks. They like to dance and make music together.
Leo loved the blue house in winter, with its hiding places and cozy spaces.
When the old heater broke, they would bake a pie just to warm up the kitchen.
But the neighborhood is changing. Leo’s dad tells him that their house is going to be torn down and they will have to move.
Leo doesn’t respond well at first. But eventually, they use music to express their anger.
They shredded on guitar, and Leo did a special scream solo. It made both of them a little less mad.
They do further things to adjust, like painting on the walls of the empty house before it’s torn down. Even after they’ve moved, they find ways to remember the old blue house. And ways to make their new house feel more and more like home.
This is a lovely story of a small family dealing with something hard and making a new home together.
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/blue_house.html
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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.
Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.
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