If You Lived Here: Houses of the World

by Giles Laroche (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

Master of the cut and paste art technique, Giles Laroche takes readers on a storytelling journey around the world that celebrates the diversity of homes and the people who are shaped by them.

Step into unique homes from around the world and discover the many fascinating ways in which people live and have lived.

If you lived in the mountains of southern Spain, your bedroom might be carved out of a mountain. If you lived in a village in South Africa, the outside of your house might tell the story of your family. And if you lived in a floating green house in the Netherlands, you could rotate your house to watch both the sunrise and sunset. With intricate bas-relief collages, Giles Laroche uncovers the reason why each home was constructed the way in which it was, then lets us imagine what it would be like to live in homes so different from our own.

Showing the tremendous variety of dwellings worldwide--log cabins, houses on stilts, cave dwellings, boathouses, and yurts--this book addresses why each house is build the way that it is. Reasons--such as blending into the landscape, confusing invaders, being able to travel with one's home, using whatever materials are at hand--are as varied as the homes themselves.

List of Houses included:

  • Dogtrot log house, based on dogtrots built in the southern U.S. Chalet, based on chalets built in the Austrian Alps
  • Pueblo, Taos, New Mexico
  • Connected barn, based on connected barns common in northern New England.
  • Cave dwelling, Guadix, Andalucia, Spain
  • Palafitos (house on stilts), Chiloe Island, Chile Palazzo
  • Dario, Venice, Italy
  • Chateau La Brede, Bordeaux, France
  • Tulou, Hangkeng village, Yongding, China
  • Half-timbered houses, Miltenberg am Main, Germany
  • Greek island village houses, Astipalaia Island, Greece
  • Decorated houses of Ndebele, Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa
  • Yurt, based on yurts in Mongolia and other parts of central Asia
  • Airstream trailer, USA
  • Floating house, Middleburg, the Netherlands
  • Tree house, USA
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School Library Journal

Starred Review

K-Gr 5—This intriguing exploration of homes around the world has something to offer a wide range of readers. Laroche's stunningly intricate bas-relief cut-paper collages take center stage, though the text is cleverly designed to appeal to multiple audiences. Large-font text suitable for sharing with a group appears on each spread, building on the title by inviting readers to contemplate the everyday experiences of living in 16 types of dwellings, from having to "step outside to get from your bedroom to the kitchen" in a dogtrot log house, to being able to "catch fish from your bedroom window" in a Chilean palafitos (house on stilts). Smaller-font text on each page offers additional background on the house's location, construction, and history. The diverse abodes include Spanish cave dwellings, Fujian tulous, Mediterranean whitewashed villages, Mongolian yurts, and even an entirely "green" Dutch floating house. This exemplary title can inspire readers as well as educate them.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

This exemplary title can inspire readers as well as educate them.—School Library Journal, starred review

With such small connections, Laroche emphasizes the similarities over the differences, making this volume both an informative sampling of domestic architecture and a meaningful representation of global culture.—Booklist

Giles Laroche
Brilliant at bas-relief cut-paper collage, Giles Laroche is the illustrator of several picture books -- including What Do Wheels Do All Day (Houghton) and Bridges are to Cross -- many of which have generated starred reviews and foreign and special sales. He lives in Salem, MA and in the summer moves to an old barn in New Hampshire.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9780547238920
Lexile Measure
1170
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Clarion Books
Publication date
October 20, 2011
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF038000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | General
JNF005000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Architecture
JNF027000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | House & Home
Library of Congress categories
Dwellings

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