The House in the Night

PreS-Gr 1 Inspired by traditional cumulative poetry, Swanson weaves a soothing song that is as luminescent and soulful as the gorgeous illustrations that accompany her words. A journey both humble and epic begins with a key to a house. "Here is the key to the house./In the house burns a light./In that light rests a bed]." In the bedroom of the house, a girl reads a book in which a bird "breathes a song]all about the starry dark." Swanson's poem then takes readers on a flight across the night sky to the realm of the moon and sun, then back along the path to the key that marked the beginning of the journey. Krommes's folk-style black-and-white etchings with touches of yellow-orange make the world of the poem an enchanted place. Patches of light and shadow give shape to the darkness, while smiling celestial bodies populate the potentially lonely night with their friendly warmth. This picture book will make a strong impression on listeners making their first acquaintance with literature. It is a masterpiece that has all the hallmarks of a classic that will be loved for generations to come. - Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Using only a few graceful words per page to illuminate the dark, this bedtime gem shines its light clearly on things that mattera home filled with books, art, music and ever-present love. Krommes's ("The Lamp, the Ice, and a Boat Called Fish") astonishing illustrations are so closely intertwined with the meticulous text that neither can be isolated without a loss of meaning. The book begins, intriguingly, Here is the key to the house./ In the house burns a light./ In that light rests a bed./ On that bed waits a book. That book takes the child reader up into the skies and back home again, to sleep (dark in the song, song in the bird, / bird in the book, book on the bed). Krommes's black-and-white scratchboard illustrations are as delicate and elegant as snowflakes, and she uses a single color, a marigold, to bring warmth to both home and stars. This volume's artful simplicity, homely wisdom and quiet tone demonstrate the interconnected beauty and order of the world in a way that both children and adults will treasure. Ages 3-6. (May)

Copyright 2008 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

"Krommes's widening perspective manages to exude both comfort and daring." — New York Times Book Review

"[A] book of stunning visual simplicity . . . The pictures themselves seem to reach out from domesticity toward infinity." — Liz Rosenberg, Boston Sunday Globe

"It's Wanda Gag meets Virginia Lee Burton. And gorgeous. Did I mention gorgeous? Gorgeous."— Fuse 8 Production (online), by Betsy Bird

"[Swanson] has a lyrical style all her own, complemented by Krommes' starkly stunning scratchpaper drawings." — StarTribune