The House of Grass and Sky

This is a charming book about everything having its place and every place having its thing. A home experiences generations of multiple families growing up within it. It is part of the families' lives and both parties are enriched by the personality of the other. The house stands abandoned for a while and yearns for the opportunity to be part of the right family's life again.

The book does pick at heartfelt memories of growing up and sends the reader deep into the memories of the house they grew up in. The art is beautiful with wonderful textures and emotions.

There is a bit of a disconnect between the text of the book and the reader's connection but enough hits home to make it enjoyable.

I thought I would love this book. I wanted to love this book. However I had trouble connecting with it. Maybe it's that I've read my kids scores of picture books about country life over the years and we are finally aging out of it. Maybe it's subtle jealousy that I'll never be the kind of person who will fix up a cool old house in the quiet country. Even though this story is gorgeously illustrated and beautifully written (something I would expect from Mary Lyn Ray, whom we love), I just couldn't connect with it.

My third grader, however, loved it.

The story is sweet, but it’s the illustrations that truly shine in this one. E. B. Goodale does a beautiful job bringing the titular home to life. We see through snapshots, windows, and cracking sideboards as the house ages and is refurbished. I loved the detail in the night sky and the changing seasons. It’s a lovely, simple story of a house that longs to be full of life.

A beautifully illustrated book with color and imagination. A story of a house on a hill in the country and the people that move in and out. A very interesting perspective to bring to a story time and conversation. This changes the focus from all about "us" to the physical world and what happens over time.

The House of Grass and Sky sits in a meadow, and serves as the happy home of family after family - until one family moves out and no one else comes to replace them. The house stands empty for seasons; prospective families visit, raising the house's hopes, but no one stays - until, finally, the perfect family arrives. Unique storytelling POV, tender conclusion.

See also: House Held Up By Trees by Ted Kooser and Jon Klassen; A House That Once Was by Julie Fogliano and Lane Smith

A house is built in a meadow for a family and is filled with activity and love until the day when the house is left empty. The house longs for children playing on the swing, new babies, and birthday parties as it waits for a new family. Not every family is suited for this house, but after what seems an eternity of solitude another family moves in and shares their love with the house and its rural location.

This is a picture book about a house and changes it experiences over time. It is a book of lose and hope. The beautiful illustrations invite the reader to linger and look closely. Very reminiscent of Virginia Lee Burton's The Little House. This is a beautiful book that we will keep in our collection and reread many times.