The Blue House by Phoebe Wahl - ESSENTIAL

The Blue House by Phoebe Wahl. PICTURE BOOK. Alfred A. Knopf, 2020. $18. 9781984893369

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

A young boy and his dad watch as their neighborhood shifts from small houses to high density housing. When they learn they can no longer rent their little blue house that they love, they find ways to keep it in their hearts and make their next house welcoming. 

The story is interesting here, but what I love the most is the illustrations of a dad and a son working through their emotions together. Upending masculine stereotypes these show a dad feeling sad, comforting a son, decorating a house, talking on the phone to friends. These little things had a big impact.  

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher