Genre # 1 Picture Books:
Book Review #2
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Swanson, Susan Marie. 2008. THE HOUSE IN THE NIGHT. Ill. by Beth Krommes. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN-13: 978-0-618-86244-3 / ISBN-10: 0-618-86244-7
2. PLOT SUMMARY
This book is about how a child sees the order of his or her world in regards to their bedtime routine – including the beloved storytime. This book highlights one’s nighttime ritual that is both comforting and exciting at the same time; as the story brings one out into the world beyond, using imagination to explore the order of the universe, and then arrive back home safely again.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
a. Characters:
The main characters in this book are the little girl, her teddy bear and the bird from the book. The other characters are her companions - the dog and the cat with her two kittens; and her mother and father.
b. Plot
The plot for this story is a little girl’s bedtime ritual or routine that she follows before going to bed. Through her good night story book she is transported to the depths of her imagination – and out to the universe beyond! It is quite the fantasy, but one that children will find fascinating as everyone at one time or another wish they could fly out of their windows and up to the stars above!
c. Settings:
The setting is the little girl’s home – her safe bedroom and then the land, the world and the universe beyond her window!
d. Theme:
The theme for this story is about how books (especially nighttime story books) can transport you to far away places (with the help of your imagination) and return you safely home (or bed) - and that not only is there a circle of life but there is cyclical order in the universe around us with each passing day in our routine which is reassuring and familiar.
e. Style:
“Swanson’s reassuring story (inspired by a nursery rhyme that begins, ‘This is the key of the kingdom’) to create a world as cozy inside the house as it is majestic outside” (Booklist, 2009).
“A spare, patterned text and glowing pictures explore the origins of light that make a house a home in this bedtime book for young children. Naming nighttime things that are both comforting and intriguing to preschoolers—a key, a bed, the moon—this timeless book illuminates a reassuring order to the universe” (Amazon product review).
f. Illustrations:
The illustrations are of basic objects but with highly detailed etchings done in black and white and highlighted hints of gold.
g. Cultural Markers:
With this story and illustrations - you cannot really identify a certain race or cultural background; which in this case can actually help any child identify with the story. They could be the main character and it could be their mother and father, in the story with them, for all they know.
h. Awards & Recognitions:
2009 Caldecott Medal Winner
THE HOUSE IN THE NIGHT is an easy-to-read story book with simple sentences for the beginning reader or English Language Learner. Actually, one can understand the story by looking at the fascinating illustrations which is also great for those children that are pre-verbal.
The illustrations looked like they were etched – and are done in black and white. It is interesting how some of the objects are high-lighted in gold to stand out and draw your attention to them specifically. As far as picture books go, I feel that THE HOUSE IN THE NIGHT is a visual masterpiece. The illustrations are so beautiful that you get lost taking in all of the rich details!
Research shows that infants and young children are drawn to the black and white contrasts – hence children will be drawn to these illustrations! And then, Beth Krommes highlights some of the key objects or points by adding the precious hints of gold to her pictures. Her illustrations remind me of another favourite book of mine and my children called MILLIONS OF CATS by Wanda Ga’g, only Krommes’s illustrations have more detail in my opinion.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Here are some other review highlights:
"Krommes’s widening perspective manages to exude both comfort and daring." -- New York Times Book Review
"Here the art is spectacular. Executed in scratchboard decorated in droplets of gold, Krommes’ illustrations expand on Swanson’s reassuring story (inspired by a nursury rhyme that begins, “This is the key of the kingdom”) to create a world as cozy inside a house as it is majestic outside."--Booklist, starred review
"Inspired by traditional cumulative poetry, Swanson weaves a soothing song that is as luminescent and soulful as the gorgeous illustrations that accompany her words. . . . It is a masterpiece that has all the hallmarks of a classic that will be loved for generations to come."--School Library Journal, starred review
"Krommes’s breathtaking scratchboard illustrations, in black and white with accents of yellow and gold, embody and enhance the text’s message that light and dark, like comfort and mystery, are not mutually exclusive, but integral parts of each other."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"This volume's artful simplicity, homely wisdom and quiet tone demonstrate the interconnected beauty and order of the world in a way that both children and adults will treasure."--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"...in another standout performance by an illustrator, Beth Krommes makes a case for The House in the Night with scratchboard images that are themselves a throwback, but with a welcome kind of familiarity... I can see a night-skittish child taking comfort in this story at bedtime."-- The Washington Post (online)
"[A] book of stunning visual simplicity . . . The pictures themselves seem to reach out from domesticity toward infinity."--Liz Rosenberg, Boston Sunday Globe
"It's Wanda Gag meets Virginia Lee Burton. And gorgeous. Did I mention gorgeous? Gorgeous."-- Fuse 8 Production (online), by Elizabeth “Betsy” Bird
"[Swanson] has a lyrical style all her own, complemented by Krommes' starkly stunning scratchpaper drawings."-- StarTribune
5. CONNECTIONS
*According to the jacket cover of the book, THE HOUSE IN THE NIGHT, another title by Susan Marie Swanson is:
THE FIRST THING MY MAMA TOLD ME – a Charlotte Zolotov Honor Book and New York
Times Best Illustrated Book.
*According to the jacket cover of the book, THE HOUSE IN THE NIGHT, other titles illustrated by Beth Krommes are:
THE LAMP, THE ICE AND A BOAT CALLED FISH – winner of the Golden Kite Award for
illustration and a Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book.
BUTTERFLY EYES AND OTHER SECRETS OF THE MEADOW – winner of the APSCA
Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award in both the Poetry and Illustration categories.
*If you are looking for other great bedtime stories like this one, THE HOUSE IN THE NIGHT, or that have similar illustrations to those of Beth Krommes - then you should check the following books out:
Brown, Margaret Wise. 1947. GOODNIGHT MOON. Ill. by Clement Hurd. New York, NY:
HarperFestival. ISBN-10: 0-694-00361-1 or ISBN-13: 978-0-694-00361-7
Boynton, Sandra. 1982. THE GOING-TO-BED BOOK. Ill. by Sandra Boynton. New York, NY:
Little Simon. ISBN-10: 0671449028 or ISBN-13: 978-0671449025
Ga’g, Wanda. 1956. MILLIONS OF CATS. Ill. by Wanda Ga’g. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.
ISBN 0-590-40612-4
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