Overview
From Follett
Describes unique houses from around the world, including a chalet in the Austrian Alps, yurts in Mongolia, Greek island village houses on Astypalaia Island, and more.
From the Publisher
Master of the cut and paste art technique, Giles Laroche takes readers on a storytelling journey around the world that celebrates the diversity of homes and the people who are shaped by them. Step into unique homes from around the world and discover the many fascinating ways in which people live and have lived. If you lived in the mountains of southern Spain, your bedroom might be carved out of a mountain. If you lived in a village in South Africa, the outside of your house might tell the story of your family. And if you lived in a floating green house in the Netherlands, you could rotate your house to watch both the sunrise and sunset. With intricate bas-relief collages, Giles Laroche uncovers the reason why each home was constructed the way in which it was, then lets us imagine what it would be like to live in homes so different from our own. Showing the tremendous variety of dwellings worldwide'log cabins, houses on stilts, cave dwellings, boathouses, and yurts'this book addresses why each house is build the way that it is. Reasons'such as blending into the landscape, confusing invaders, being able to travel with one's home, using whatever materials are at hand'are as varied as the homes themselves. List of Houses included: Dogtrot log house, based on dogtrots built in the southern U.S. Chalet, based on chalets built in the Austrian Alps. Pueblo, Taos, New Mexico Connected barn, based on connected barns common in northern New England. Cave dwelling, Guadix, Andalucia, Spain Palafitos (house on stilts), Chiloe Island, Chile Palazzo Dario, Venice, Italy Chateau La Brede, Bordeaux, France Tulou, Hangkeng village, Yongding, China Half-timbered houses, Miltenberg am Main, Germany Greek island village houses, Astipalaia Island, Greece Decorated houses of Ndebele, Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa Yurt, based on yurts in Mongolia and other parts of central Asia. Airstream trailer, USA Floating house, Middleburg, the Netherlands Tree house, USA
Product Details
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Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
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Publication Date:
October 25, 2011
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Format:
Hardcover
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Dewey:
392.3
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Classifications:
Nonfiction
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Description:
32 unnumbered pages : color illustrations, color map ; 29 cm
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ISBN-10:
0-547-23892-4
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ISBN-13:
978-0-547-23892-0
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LCCN:
2010-044361
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Follett Number:
0468GRX
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Interest Level:
3-6
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Reading Level:
6.3
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ATOS Book Level:
6.6
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AR Interest Level:
LG
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AR Points:
1
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AR Quiz: 146542EN
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Reading Counts Level:
10.6
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Reading Counts Points:
4
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Lexile:
NC1170L
Reviews & Awards
- Booklist, 10/15/11
- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 12/01/11
- Horn Book Magazine, 09/01/11
- Horn Book Magazine, 04/01/12
- School Library Journal starred, 09/01/11
- Wilson's Children, 10/01/12
Full-Text Reviews
Booklist (October 15, 2011 (Vol. 108, No. 4))
Grades K-3. In this inviting picture book, Laroche presents a catalog of 16 homes, from a painted Ndebele house in South Africa to a Chinese tulou, in vibrant, intricate collages layered of hand-cut, hand-colored paper. Each house sprawls across a two-page spread, with illustrative details showing the geography, the inhabitants, and the community, as well as the house itself. The boxed text begins with a child-focused snippet (“If you lived here, you could catch fish from your bedroom window”), followed by bits of information under five headings: “House Type,” “Materials,” “Location,” “Date,” and “Fascinating Fact.” Laroche links the individual entries into a thoughtful whole with interesting comparisons from house to house. The entry on the pueblo village includes a discussion of the absence of doors to keep invaders out, for example. The subsequent entry on the connected barn notes that doors were left out to keep livestock in. With such small connections, Laroche emphasizes the similarities over the differences, making this volume both an informative sampling of domestic architecture and a meaningful representation of global culture.
Read all 5 full-text reviews …
Horn Book Guide starred (Spring 2012)
Laroche's bas-relief cut-paper collages illustrate sixteen different dwellings that people call home, from log cabins and tree houses to pueblos and yurts. Each is introduced with a paragraph that begins with the phrase, "If you lived here," enticing readers to imagine how it might be. Facts and additional comments on each page stimulate curiosity and expand and broaden readers' worldview.
Horn Book Magazine (September/October, 2011)
Laroche applies his signature bas-relief cut-paper collage technique to sixteen different dwellings that illustrate the range of places that people call home. Some types of homes are familiar (log cabin, tree house, trailer); others are less so (pueblo, chateau, yurt). Each, however, is introduced with a paragraph that begins with the phrase, "If you lived here," enticing the reader to imagine how it might be. Facts on each page (type of house, building materials, historical period) plus other intriguing comments (e.g., "Many children growing up in villages with cave dwellings believe everyone lives in caves -- and are surprised to discover that most people live in houses with a roof and four walls!") further satiate the curiosity. For young readers, these profiles not only provide glimpses into the lives of people who might live very differently from us but also expand and broaden their worldview. jonathan hunt
Kirkus Reviews (September 15, 2011)
Many North American children have a difficult time visualizing places or houses different than their own; this survey will help somewhat. The dwelling places pictured here will enlarge their knowledge base to some extent, but due to the limited representations (only 15 types of housing), readers will still need additional sources to understand shelter in a fuller geographic or historic context. Laroche's engagingly intricate, bas-relief collages provide a sense of the environments andthe people living in the houses. A range from a "dogtrot log house" (mid-Atlantic or southern U.S. in the 18th and 19th centuries) with two living spaces connected by a long roof and walk-through space to a 1986 Dutch high tech" green" floating house that can turn on its own platform. Other houses include a Venetian palazzo (confusingly, the author says... "the floor of the bottom story is water!") and a Fujian tulou, a round, "rammed earth" structure (the one depicted was built in China in 1912). The text includes house type, materials, location, date and a (sometimes) "fascinating fact." On a sexist note, the last spread teams to show three boys working on a treehouse. Overall weaknesses involve too much emphasis on European and U.S. examples and a map that links the styles to their geographic areas without marked political boundaries. Best used to encourage children to create their own collages or three-dimensional models, this misses the mark as a strong introduction to domestic architecture. (selected sources) (Informational picture book. 6-9)
School Library Journal (September 1, 2011)
K-Gr 5-This intriguing exploration of homes around the world has something to offer a wide range of readers. Laroche's stunningly intricate bas-relief cut-paper collages take center stage, though the text is cleverly designed to appeal to multiple audiences. Large-font text suitable for sharing with a group appears on each spread, building on the title by inviting readers to contemplate the everyday experiences of living in 16 types of dwellings, from having to "step outside to get from your bedroom to the kitchen" in a dogtrot log house, to being able to "catch fish from your bedroom window" in a Chilean palafitos (house on stilts). Smaller-font text on each page offers additional background on the house's location, construction, and history. The diverse abodes include Spanish cave dwellings, Fujian tulous, Mediterranean whitewashed villages, Mongolian yurts, and even an entirely "green" Dutch floating house. This exemplary title can inspire readers as well as educate them.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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