This House, Once by Deborah Freedman (9781481442848, Amazon)

Simple and profound, this picture book by a master author/illustrator takes a look at the wonder behind everyday objects like a house. The door was once a huge oak tree. The stones were raised from deep underground. The bricks came from mud that was baked hard. The windows were once sand. The book takes a quiet and focused look at the transformation of materials into the items that surround us.

I find myself unable to capture in words the beauty of this quiet book. It has a gorgeous meditative quality to it, a look at the importance of the history of our things, their origins and the skill that it took to make them. Freedman manages to convey all of that with simple words and taking a look at where all of the parts of the house came from one after another. The ending wraps it all up, tying it all back to the front door as the house comes to life around the reader.

Freedman’s art is dreamy and soft. She creates clouds and leaves with watercolors that feather on the page. Young animals play together in the natural settings that the objects originated in. There are puddles, mud, stones underground, and more. Then the house, solid and warm, lit with by a fireplace, still open to dreams.

A brilliant picture book that will entrance young readers, little builders and budding scientists. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Atheneum Books for Young Readers.