Homeplace

Homeplace

by Anne Shelby

Scholastic Inc., 1995

Homeplace is a beautifully illustrated story told from a grandmother to her granddaughter. The story starts with her telling the story of her “great-great-great-great grandfather” who built the house that they are now living in. Throughout the story she tells her granddaughter of the hard work that her grandparents have put into the land and house that she lives in.

What I liked most about this story was the way each page told a different story of a different generation. The first set of grandparents built the house, while later grandparents were ordering furniture from a catalog. The elements of different time period can speak volumes and show children how different things were in the past.

The illustrations in this story are also one of my favorite parts. They are so detailed and contain multiple pictures per page. They are elaborate and truly show an accurate representation of hard work over time. The characters are also often positioned on the right side of the page to show the forward journey that not only they take, but that you take with them, as the reader.