The House in the Night

The House in the Night

A Caldecott Award Winning Picture Book

Swanson, Susan M.  (2008).  The House in the Night.  New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Picture

This picture was obtained from http://reviews.rebeccareid.com/caldecott-corner-the-house-in-the-night-by-beth-krommes-2009-award-winner/

“On the moon’s face shines the sun.”

-page 20 of The House in the Night

A Little about the Book:

The House in the Night won the Caldecott Award in 2009 for its illustrations.  The book is a nighttime verse for children.  The House in the Night depicts there is always light in the dark.

The Illustrations:

The House in the Night’s illustrations look like a whole bunch of black lines put together to create a picture.  They are very interesting to look at.  When you look at the illustrations, your eyes move all over the pages following the various angles of lines in each picture.  The only coloring in the illustrations is yellow which depicts the light in the night.

Themes:

·         Bedtime

·         Nightime

·         Light

Age Level:

The House in the Night is appropriate for children between the ages of two and four.  The story is very simple.  The story line would be boring for older children though.

Personal Response:

The House in the Night has very good illustrations.  I enjoyed the use of black lines to create pictures.  I also found the additions of yellow to create the light were very effective.

The story itself was not very interesting.  I found the story to be dull and uneventful.  This is a book, which I would not read again, and would not recommend.

Teacher Ideas:

Art

The House in the Night is a great book to use to show children different methods of drawing pictures.  Children can use lines like those used in the illustrations in The House in the Night to create their own pictures.  I would suggest giving students fine line black sharpies to create their pictures.