It’s Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday!
Near the end of the year my students and I did a number of interesting art projects about structures and imaginative houses. If the year had been longer, I had planned to share these two nonfiction titles about houses around the world and homes through time. We ran out of time so I am sharing them here 🙂
If You Lived Here: Houses of the World by Giles Laroche (published 2011)
A gorgeous selection of homes though time located all over the world. Each two page spread features a stunning illustration (bas-relief cut-paper collages ) and a box of text. If you lived here . . . each page begins and some details of life in a particular dwelling are shared. Also included on each page are headings and more info about: House Type, Materials, Location, Date and a Fascinating Fact. I have three favourites where I wouldn’t mind spending a month or so:
- a chateau in southwest France – the one featured in this book was in the 1700s and became a museum in 2004
- a Fujian tulou located in China built out of lime, find sand and soil for the exterior walls
- a house in a white washed village in the Agean Sea (as featured on the cover)- I loved these homes on my visits to Greece
How People Lived: Snapshots of Life from Prehistory to the Present written by Jim Pipe and illustrated by Zack McLaughlin (published 2011)
This is a book perfect to introduce to a class at carpet time and then let little groups share during buddy reading. So much information about how people have lived over time beginning 160,000 years ago in caves in South Africa. I had my eleven year old page through this title and he was most interested in the pages featuring a Viking Port, a Roman town and a Sultan’s Palace in Istanbul. The pages include photographs, drawings, maps and information about food, technology, structures and culture. Back pages include riddles, a timeline, glossary and index. A great title for the classroom or library nonfiction collection. The illustrations are so detailed that even beginning readers will be interested in this book.
Some fiction titles I love related to homes and building houses if this has put you in a creative mood!
Thanks to Alyson from Kid Lit Frenzy for the inspiration to read and share more nonfiction picture books in 2014! Follow the link to Alyson’s blog to read about more nonfiction titles.
My goal is to read 65 nonfiction picture books for 2014. Progress: 77/65 complete!
There's a Book for That 
So many great books about houses. I love Building Our House, Iggy Peck, and If You Lived Here. I still need to read a few of the others. Great topic to share with students. It’s not about houses, but I also love Dreaming Up! which is about architecture.
I liked Dreaming Up as well! Architecture is such an interesting topic for students.
Thanks so much for sharing all these wonderful titles Carrie! I love opening up thinking about different types of houses and getting kids pondering…”what makes a house a home?”. Also think this topic promotes world perspective and inspires wanderlust! Can’t wait to explore all your recommendations! Here are a few more to add: A House is a House for Me (Hoberman), Bottle Houses, Library Mouse Home Sweet Home (Kirk), and Let’s Go Home (Rylant…illustrations are so sweet!).
Thanks for these wonderful suggestions! Great to grow the book list on this topic. Your question is a great one: What makes a house a home? I love Hoberman’s book – also her book like this – The Cozy Book – do you know it?
If You Lived Here was such a surprise find for me this year. I poured over the illustrations, which made me come up with questions, that I went reading in the text to find answers to! It was fun to come to that realization and then figure out how I could use this book with students. Building Our House was another favorite because, again, I loved the illustrations!
Illustrations have such power to make us wonder and imagine!
The only book I need to find is HOW PEOPLE LIVED. Great collection of books. Thank you for sharing these titles.
I am excited to put it into the classroom collection this fall. I know the children will find it so interesting!
Love the list, Carrie. Building Our House is a favorite & some friends of my daughters are loving it because they are building their house! How People Lived looks awesome!
Glad you enjoyed the list Linda. Building Our House is such a wonderful title!
What a great House theme here, dearest Carrie. I’ve been hearing a lot about “If you lived here..” – I think Zoe Toft (of Play by the Book) had a similar theme of this sort previously, or she asked something like this on Twitter a few years back. Other titles that I can think of are Jeannie Baker’s Home (2004) and Window (1991). And yes, there’s this other gorgeous book by Roberto Innocenti and J. Patrick Lewis’ The House – which I just recently borrowed from our library and will be featuring in our upcoming reading theme. That one you have to find, it’s absolutely gorgeous.
Thanks for the suggestion Myra! I will look for it! I consistently find the most wonderful picture books courtesy of your recommendations!
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