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Table of Contents
About The Book
“Tender, comforting, and complex.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Drawn with exquisite precision and quiet dashes of humor.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A lovely, ruminative selection.” —School Library Journal (starred review)
“A blueprint for mindfulness and gratitude for the homes in which we…live.” —The New York Times Book Review
Deborah Freedman’s masterful new picture book is at once an introduction to the pieces of a house, a cozy story to share and explore, and a dreamy meditation on the magic of our homes and our world.
Before there was this house,
there were stones,
and mud,
and a colossal oak tree—
three hugs around
and as high as the blue.
What was your home, once?
This poetically simple, thought-provoking, and gorgeously illustrated book invites readers to think about where things come from and what nature provides.
“Drawn with exquisite precision and quiet dashes of humor.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A lovely, ruminative selection.” —School Library Journal (starred review)
“A blueprint for mindfulness and gratitude for the homes in which we…live.” —The New York Times Book Review
Deborah Freedman’s masterful new picture book is at once an introduction to the pieces of a house, a cozy story to share and explore, and a dreamy meditation on the magic of our homes and our world.
Before there was this house,
there were stones,
and mud,
and a colossal oak tree—
three hugs around
and as high as the blue.
What was your home, once?
This poetically simple, thought-provoking, and gorgeously illustrated book invites readers to think about where things come from and what nature provides.
About The Author
Photograph by Ben Ledbetter
Deborah Freedman once was a child who liked to swing on swings. Now, she is an author-illustrator of picture books for children. She lives in a colorful house in Connecticut, where, from her favorite writing chair, she has watched blooms, storms, and moons come and go. You can learn more about Deborah and her books—including Blue Chicken; The Story of Fish & Snail; Shy; This House, Once; and Is Was—at DeborahFreedman.net.
About The Illustrator
Photograph by Ben Ledbetter
Deborah Freedman once was a child who liked to swing on swings. Now, she is an author-illustrator of picture books for children. She lives in a colorful house in Connecticut, where, from her favorite writing chair, she has watched blooms, storms, and moons come and go. You can learn more about Deborah and her books—including Blue Chicken; The Story of Fish & Snail; Shy; This House, Once; and Is Was—at DeborahFreedman.net.
Product Details
- Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (February 28, 2017)
- Length: 40 pages
- ISBN13: 9781481442855
- Ages: 4 - 8
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Raves and Reviews
A Spring 2017 Kids' Indie Next List pick: "Inspired Recommendations for Kids from Indie Booksellers"
"Deborah Freedman's dreamy "This House, Once"...is not offering us a plan for some future home.... Instead the book is a blueprint for mindfulness and gratitude for the homes in which we already live. With the wooziness that comes from sitting close to a fire, and in a whisper of colors that have the hypnotic allure of bruises, Freedman deconstructs and rebuilds her toasty house...so long as the embers of Freedman's incantation continue to glow, I'm in no rush."
– The New York Times Book Review, February 12, 2017
*STARRED REVIEW* "Softly, poetically, an unseen narrator explores a house and what it is made of.... Using pencil (both gray and colored), watercolor, and pastel—all with a supreme delicacy—Freedman builds this house.... The arc emphasizes shelter but also human use of nature, so the feelings of warmth, safety, and coziness hold the faintest tinge of melancholy and loss. Tender, comforting, and complex."
– Kirkus Reviews, November 2016, *STARRED REVIEW*
*STARRED REVIEW* "Freedman (Shy) lyrically meditates on the origins of a house.... "What were these all, once?" Freedman’s gentle inquiry is drawn with exquisite precision and quiet dashes of humor, and it will leave children thinking about the way their own houses are an extension of the natural world, with “memories” of the resources used to bring them into existence."
– Publishers Weekly, November 2016, *STARRED REVIEW*
*STARRED REVIEW* "In a story that’s more poetic than technical, select pieces of a home are highlighted to emphasize the idea that a house remembers.... Freedman has created a cozy offering to share that will spark curiosity. Conversations centered on questions such as, “How was our house made?,” “Where did the various materials come from?,” and “What function does it serve?” between a caregiver and child will carry on the ideas presented in this title long after it has been set down. VERDICT: A lovely, ruminative selection, best shared one-on-one or in a small group setting."
– School Library Journal, January 2017, *STARRED REVIEW*
"Combining lyrical language and cozy mixed-media artwork, Freedman celebrates the elements of the natural world (oak, stones, mud, rocks, and sand) used in the construction of a house.... Dreamy and imaginative."
– Booklist, November 2016
Awards and Honors
- NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts
- Prairie Bud Award Nominee (SD)
- Connecticut Book Award Nominee
- Wisconsin State Reading Association's Reading List
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): This House, Once Fixed Layout eBook 9781481442855
- Author Photo (jpg): Deborah Freedman Photograph by Ben Ledbetter(0.1 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit
