A House Is a House for Me

Everything under the sun is either a house, or something that lives in a house, in this delightful rhyming story, originally published in 1978: "Cartons are houses for crackers. / Castles are houses for kings. / The more that I think about houses, / The more things are houses for kings," declares the narrator at one point. Hoberman's rhythmic text - which makes for the best sort of read-aloud selection - is accompanied by Betty Fraser's vintage artwork, with its attention to detail and many clever little allusions.

One of those titles I would probably never have thought to pick up, were it not for the recommendation of a friend - thanks, Chandra! - A House Is a House for Me is the best sort of "concept book." It introduces children to show more the idea of relationships - between different objects, between creatures and objects, and creatures and creatures - and how they "fit" together, in the big picture, but it does so in an entertaining and thought-provoking way. It "educates," in the sense that it prompts one to think about things in new ways. The artwork is just as successful, sneaking in many clever tributes to classic children's books - I liked the scene in which the boy is reading Munro Leaf's The Story of Ferdinand, or the one in which the girl finds herself having tea with the Mad Hatter, and the other characters from Alice in Wonderland - and successfully retaining the reader's attention.

All in all, a charming picture-book, one I would recommend to young readers who appreciate a rollicking rhyme, or detailed illustrations! show less

This is more clever and educational than many classics of kids' writing for the same age group. Very entertaining and witty, with rich illustrations that might cause some adults to go "whoa, creepy", but I loved this sort of psychedelic art as a kid. An easy book to dismiss, but I'm totally hooked on it.

"A book is a house for a story.
A rose is a house for a smell.
My head is a house for a secret,
A secret I never will tell."

Hoberman employs a perfect ABCB rhyme scheme, peppered with the titular refrain. A delight to read aloud, and encourages creative thinking! A little too long for baby/toddler storytime, but I skipped some pages and it was fine.

See also: Is This A House for Hermit Crab? by Megan McDonald, illus Katherine Tillotson; Is A Book A Box for Words? by Harriet Ziefert

I'm surprised this didn't win a Caldecott, at least an Honor, back in the day.  I love how it starts out fairly straightforward, good for the littler children, but rewards the child who is patient enough to read through to the end with more and more fanciful creativity.  The pictures are indeed marvelous - bright and clear, but still intricate and rich.  The only problem that I have is on the page that includes the line trashcans are houses for garbage" and some perfectable salvageable stuff is being thrown away, like a doll that is just dirty, and a wonderful rocking horse with a single broken leg.  I'd suggest this is careless, but the last line of the book is "And the earth is a house for us all."  Well, not if we don't repair, show more recycle, etc...." show less

I love this book. It is so cute and very upbeat. It is written in a poetic rhyming style. The illustrations in the book are very colorful and the book is very busy. The pictures take up the whole page. The illustrations are also very culturally diverse and I really like that. There a children of multiple ethnic backgrounds in the book. The child reading the book can find a picture that looks like him or her. The book does not only include people but, it includes all types of animals, foods, and “things”. The book is also culturally diverse when it includes different types of houses in different cultures for example it includes an igloo and a tepee, It even includes abstract ideas like “my head is a house for a secret, a book is a show more house for a story, and a rose is a house for a smell.” The whole idea of the book is to teach children that everything under the sun has a home. Everything weather it be object,, human, animal, inanimate object, or an abstract idea has a home. The book even states “once you get started in thinking this way, it seems that whatever you see is either a house or it lives in a house.” The book does it in a way that is age level and developmentally appropriate. This has quickly become a favorite or mine. show less

This wonderful book is one long poem that describes different “houses” for a variety of creatures and objects. The rhyme is fun, the pictures have new things to discover each time a child looks at the pages and new words are introduced throughout the book. I love it!

Retelling: The author reveals how, once you get to thinking about houses, you see them everywhere! Mary Ann Hoberman reveals surprisingly creative houses on every page in a wonderfully lyrical rhyming chant.

Thoughts and Feelings: When you get to thinking about so many places as houses for things, it's hard to imagine destroying them. I also like how the author showed the names of domesticated animal dwellings. I have problems remembering that vocabulary, just like I have problems remembering what to to call different animal babies, or different communities of animals. This was a wonderful book!