House Held Up by Trees (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: House Held Up by Trees Deborah Stevenson Kooser, Ted . House Held Up by Trees; illus. by Jon Klassen. Candlewick, 2012. 32p. ISBN 978-0-7636-5107-7 $16.99 Ad Gr. 3-5. A little house sits in the middle of a cleared lot, dense woods on either side, and provides a home for a father and his two children. After the kids grow up, the father moves away, leaving the place uninhabited and up for sale. Gradually, the house wears and weathers, and the neighboring forest trees drop seeds that begin to sprout. Those under the roof 's drip line grow with particular vigor, shooting up along the walls and actually holding the dilapidated structure together; eventually their interweaving and continued growth lifts the little house entirely off its foundation and into the trees. Poet Laureate emeritus Kooser writes with quiet particularity, and his descriptive prose is filled with the rustle of wind through the trees. Klassen's art is simply beautiful, the leafy trees making a lacy pattern against the walls of the house, strong verticals of trees delicately textured by slender grasses and pale dotty imprints of leaflets; the cream pages and emphasis on browns in the pigments suggests a sepia-toned historical photograph, while there's a strong graphic sensibility in the designerly compositions. Ultimately, though, there's a significant audience problem: this is a lengthy, text-heavy setup for a highly poetic image rather than an actual story, so it's well over the head of the pre-reading picture-book audience; even older readers are going to have a hard time gaining traction because ultimately, even with the arresting art, this is more of an adult-appealing descriptive vignette than a book. It's nonetheless a lovely vignette, so it could divert readers of a thoughtful bent or inspire some youthful artists to create their own poetic blends of word and image. [End Page 463] Copyright © 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois