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by Tonya Lippert (Author) Andrea Stegmaier (Illustrator)

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Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

In the brown house, Claire and Wes were home. But home turned to nowhere and nowhere turned to anywhere. Then somewhere finally came, and finally, always.

This lyrical story is timely and thoughtful, depicting the life of two children thrust into homelessness and uncertain housing situations as they move out of their house, to a motel, to a shelter, and finally another more permanent home. Throughout, the duo is challenged by uncomfortable new places and inquiries from strangers, but ultimately, never lose their optimism or determination. They have each other, no matter at home, nowhere, anywhere, or somewhere always. Includes a poignant Reader's Note on how homelessness affects children and what we can do to help.

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Hardcover
$16.99

School Library Journal

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.--Catherine Callegari

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Shines a light on the hidden problem of unhoused children... The text and illustrations (with the children remaining in color while everything
around them is black and gray) brilliantly represent their fear and disorientation. At book's end, the family moves into a new house with the knowledge that it's love and family that makes a home...A compassion-and-action-awakening book.
—Booklist STARRED REVIEW
Tonya Lippert
Tonya Lippert, PhD, LCSW, runs mental health therapy groups at Kaiser Permanente and is the co-author of a book on ADHD as well as the author of the children's book Goodbye, School. She herself
keeps saying "Hello, School," as she previously worked as a visiting psychology professor at Reed College and is currently working on her JD at Case Western Reserve University. Except when traveling
for school or other reasons, she can be found at her Portland, OR house, which is nearly 110 years old. Visit tonyalippert.blog and @tlipk on Twitter.

Andrea Stegmaier is an illustrator and architect with a passion for children's books. She draws digital and traditional, straight lines and wonky lines, serious and funny things, animals and people, houses and plants,
simply everything. She lives in a small old row house in Stuttgart, Germany. Visit andreastegmaier.com, @AndreaStegmaier on Twitter, and @Andrea_Stegmaier on Instagram.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781433836862
Lexile Measure
520
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Magination Press
Publication date
February 20, 2022
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039050 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emotions & Feelings
JUV039070 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Homelessness & Poverty
JUV013070 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Siblings
Library of Congress categories
Homeless persons

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