A House That Once Was by Julie Fogliano - ESSENTIAL

A House That Once Was by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Lane Smith. PICTURE BOOK. Roaring Book Press (Macmillan), 2018. $19. 9781626723146

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL. 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Told with beautiful rhythm and repetition, this is the story of a house in the woods and a couple of kids who discover it. The kids explore the house and imagine who once lived in there. When they head back to their own houses for a nice dinner, the house in the woods remains alone. 

This book sticks with you. It isn’t exciting in a flashy way, but it is a beautiful story. My favorite part of the book was the imaginings of who previously lived in the house. I think this would be a great addition to any unit on literary writing - this book uses repetition of phrases and letters, not to mention the use of a house as a character.    

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher