Gr 1-4–From a writer who is a social worker and who experienced homelessness as a child, this is an affecting story of lost and found. Clare and Wes, both redheads, live in the Brown House with their mother, who looks like them, and their father, who has dark hair and brown skin. Clare makes flower wreaths to beautify the house and Wes draws pictures for its walls. Then one day they experience a “big change” and say good-bye to Brown House, but with “nowhere of their own to arrive,” they stay in various places. Ultimately, they end up at a shelter while awaiting permanent housing: “Somewhere was better than Nowhere. And Anywhere.” Meanwhile the kids attend school, finding comfort in their friends and the routine despite the anxiety about where they live and the questions it elicits. Finally, they move into Blue House, but “They never forgot what it was like to be Nowhere, Somewhere or Anywhere.” Without needing to name every single emotion, Lippert covers a lot of territory in the text including happiness, confusion, anger, sadness, and hope. Her occasionally ambiguous text, unexpected word order, and punctuation slow the story, allowing readers to decipher what is happening. But if the deliberately vague language softens what is unfolding, the book remains a good starting point for empathy, representation, and discussion. Precisely rendered illustrations, of people, paths, and home after home, capture the changing landscape and give the text an assist. Stegmaier effectively renders the family and specific items (luggage, pictures, etc.) in color against a black-and-white palette for focus. Includes an author’s note and additional resources.
VERDICT This book covers an important topic on which few picture books are written, and may help children, those experiencing homelessness or not, make sense of this economic and emotional hardship.
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