2024 the best house in london review

Price: $9.99 - $7.42
(as of Dec 17, 2024 20:45:08 UTC - Details)

This Caldecott Medal–winning picture book gets children ready for bed with rhythmic text and glowing illustrations that explore the warmth and light that makes us feel at home.

"Here is the key to the house."

Inside the house are nighttime things both comforting and intriguing—a bed, many books—and outside, too, there are sources of light and joy—the moon, the sky—that reveal a reassuring order in the universe. This timeless bedtime tale takes readers through the house in the night, up into the sky, and back home again, all the while reminding us of the presence of love and wonder in our world.

Susan Marie Swanson’s spare verse and Beth Kromme’s astonishing illustrations intertwine to create a comforting, magical story to revisit again and again.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Clarion Books; Illustrated edition (October 4, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Board book ‏ : ‎ 36 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0547577699
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0547577692
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 1 - 5 years, from customers
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.75 x 1.12 x 7.5 inches
Reviewer: KCB
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Charming, quick, and beautiful
Review: My little really enjoys this beautiful little book. It's quick, easy to read, and has unique and charming art.

Reviewer: Judy K. Polhemus
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Magnificent artwork!!
Review: Are you familiar with Scratchboard art? Beth Krommes uses the technique in her Caldecott 2009 Medal winner, "The House in the Night," written by Susan Marie Swanson. Together they created a magnificent cumulative pattern beginning with "Here is the key to the house."But first, what is scratchboard art? "Scratchboard is a unique art medium which produces pictures of amazing realism, incredible detail, or fascinating contrast. It is 'The art of taking away' as you start with a black surface and scratch off to show the white underneath" (Scratchboard Art website). Obviously, Krommes focused on contrast with the black and white and gold.Norman Gaddini's website offers further details: Specific cardboard is coated with white chalk then dyed with India ink. Scratching tools etch the lines, and a spoon-like tool is used to scrape the black to reveal the white beneath. Correction of error is done with India ink. Later, watercolor can be added as Krommes did with her gold.Krommes used gold on the end pages as part of her cumulative effect. What else is gold? The key, the title words, the setting sun, lights in the house, flowers basking in the last sun rays, flowers in the house (a reflection), the dog's teddy bear, a lamp, the girl's teddy, a ball, a doll, book covers, rays on the bird in the book, stars, vibrations of the bird's song, reflections of the sun on the moon, and we're back in the house on the bed, light in the house, mom tucking the girl in, and all cozy in our places. All is right with the world.The words are simple but a bit dizzying like a magic mantra lulling one into bliss and peace. Gold and dark, dark permeated by gold, always that gleam of gold urging the girl on into a magic ride through the dark back into the coziness of bed and teddy and kitty and dog nearby. And of course, Mama. Daddy's there, too.In all these finely and coarsely scratched lines are things for children to look for: where's mama cat? How many kitties does she have? Whose toy is the little teddy? Where's the ball? On the next page? Things move around from picture to picture.When the girl and the bird fly through the night I was reminded of another Caldecott winner: Snowflake Bentley (Caldecott Medal Book), the story of the photography of snowflakes and the proof that each snowflake is unique. Krommes's stars and flowers are like that--each different.When you read a new Caldecott, do you wonder what was its competition? The artwork in "The House in the Night" is so magnificent, you just know it is in a class of its own. Caldecott Honor books for 2009 include:How I Learned GeographyA River of Words: The Story of William Carlos WilliamsA Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever

Reviewer: NK
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Very loved
Review: My 1.5 yo daughter adores this book at bedtime. The words are simple, the pictures unique, and lots of vocabulary building by talking through the story.

Reviewer: Tigerlily64
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Caldecott Award Winner
Review: This is an absolutely beautiful book which I will always treasure.The story line is intriguing. The illustrations are really exquisite; they are done with sensitive lines in black and white with touches of orange highlights.I read this book to my grandchildren, ages 5, 7 and 11.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Beautifully written and stunning illustrations
Review: Beautifully written and stunning illustrations. For those two reasons i would give it 5 stars, however, the book is not printed correctly and it seems the same has happened with other prints of the book. With mine, the second to last page repeats for two pages. So, i'm not really sure what the ending page of the book is.

Reviewer: SM Reader
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Timeless
Review: This is my go-to newborn gift. The text is exquisite and the drawing are magical. A book children will love and remember.

Reviewer: Jess C.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Beautiful book that I don't mind reading every single night
Review: I bought this to read every night as part of the baby's bedtime routine. We started when he was 4 months old, but let's face it - at that age, he wouldn't know this book from War and Peace, so really, I bought it for myself. The illustrations are gorgeous and detailed, and the prose tells a simple story that starts with a house key, expands to explore the nighttime world, then winds down and finishes with the key again.But most importantly, reading the book every night for months straight hasn't driven me off the deep end, like some other books might (I'm looking at you, Goodnight Moon). The baby's now 7 months old, fights bedtime with all his little heart, but still takes time out from his squirming and complaining to smile and laugh at this book.Edit: 9 months, still fights bedtime, still likes the book, and is additionally now fascinated by the shiny embossed medal on the cover. Still a winner.Edit: Almost 2 years old, still fights bedtime. Around 18 months, he liked to point at all the things in the book so I could name them for him. But now, he's pretty much over it. Instead, he likes to wind down for sleep with a book about spiders. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Reviewer: Lauren
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Relaxing bedtime book
Review: My 2 year old likes to read this before bed. I read it in a very calm voice and we can practice naming the pictures too. Goodnight Moon is great, but I'm glad we can mix it up!

Reviewer: Geordano de Moura
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: O livro é lindo e a história muito legal! Fantástico! Uma obra de arte! Não a toa que foi premiado. O meu filho de 1 ano ainda não se interessou pelo livro, acho que devido ao estilo do desenho, tbm pela idade, prefere desenhos mais coloridos e simples. O Macaco Danado ele gostou mais.

Reviewer: Alessa
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The black and white is beautiful, the pop of color on ever page is super eye catching

Reviewer: yue
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: un livre tres sympa

Reviewer: Carrie
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Didn't realise this was a board book for little children but as luck would have it I have a perfect candidate for it as a gift...beautiful illustrations and a sweet story.

Reviewer: Joy
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I love, love this book. It is so beautiful. A wonderful addition to my children's book collection. I will never tire reading it over and over.