Jerry Pinkney is one of my favorite illustrators. His talent is incredible! And, this book is no exception to his stellar artistry. Coming upon a chimney, made of stone with flowers grown round, a young girl and her parents wonder who lived in the edifice during the years of history. The author allows the reader to journey with her as we imagine the people who sat on the porch singing Amazing Grace, as chicken is frying in the pan. Upstairs, a young girl is brushing her long hair. And as the day ends, the storm approaches to cool the night air. And, as the rain comes down, the thunder claps and the lightening is loud.

If you are interested, here is a link that highlights many of the books that Pinkney wrote, and/or illustrated:

https://www.google.com/search?source=univ&tbm=isch&q=Home+Place,+Jerry+P.... ( )

A young girl and her family are traveling through the forest and they start to find a lot of random items around an old stone platform. They find a small yellow bottle and a china doll arm. The family starts to imagine another family that used to live in the very spot they were exploring. The family they are imagining seems very real to them and they are unsure if the family is really there or not. The imaginary family disappears but there are other forest animals that are now visible. The family realizes that the animals are living in the forest in place of the family.

This de-accessioned book, marked "Discarded," on sale at my local public library is about an abandoned house in the woods. All that remains are the chimney, the house's foundation, the daffidils that bloom every spring, and broken bits and pieces that give hints of the lives of the people who once lived there. The vibrant water colors by Jerry Pinkney show a modern-day family wandering about the place and an African-American family of long ago living in the house. The book encourages the reader to think about how objects hint at history, especially the history of ordinary people. ( )

This book is about finding traces of lives that once were, wondering what they were like and how, with time,they slip away.

This book has been seared in my memory, and finally, I have a copy in my hands. A family, poking through the woods, sees signs of a now-abandoned home in a broken-down chimney and the daffodils remaining. Text is poetic; illustrations evocative. ( )