House Held Up by Trees

A man who lives in a small white house keeps his lawn tidy and free of tree seedlings while his two children play in the woods at the edge of the property. But the children grow up, the man abandons the house, and the trees he tried to defeat take over; after many years, they lift the house slowly but surely off the ground. Former poet laureate Kooser observes the slowly unfolding events in limpid prose, while Klassen (I Want My Hat Back), working with a Wyeth-like palette of winter browns and grays, shows the house, the father, and his children from many angles, but almost always from a distance, as the trees must see them. As in Kooser's first picture book, Bag in the Wind, themes of isolation and mankind's sometimes uneasy relationship with the natural world are prominent. Young readers may not know what to make of the story, though they will recognize the futility of trying to fight nature's onslaught. The magic is in the trees' final deed, and the story is a long prologue to it. Ages 4-10. Illustrator's agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Mar.)

Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Gr 3-5--A lyrical, melancholy prose text by former U.S. poet laureate Kooser is paired with ethereal illustrations to tell the story of a house and the family who once lived there. A man raises his daughter and son in a little house surrounded by lawn, which he keeps mowed and totally devoid of trees. But on each side, luxurious woods flourish, luring the children to explore the mysteries of nature. When they grow up and leave home, and the father becomes too old to care for the property, he moves to the city, abandoning the house, which no one wants to buy. As it falls into ruin, the seeds and pods so long squelched by the man's mowing begin to sprout and grow, some so close around the walls of the house that they keep it from falling down. Eventually they lift it off its foundation and raise it high above the ground "like a tree house...a house held together by the strength of trees...." A palette of muted browns, grays, and greens predominates in illustrations where the little white house and two iconic folding chairs out front suggest a subtext of loneliness and loss, even as strong verticals and occasional splashes of red lend a sense of hope. Varies perspectives provide strong visual interest and should keep older readers engaged in a story brimming with sadness and a touch of wonder and promise.--Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

The former poet laureate Ted Kooser's HOUSE HELD UP BY TREES is a lyric, poetic story, stark but also imbued with a haunting beauty...Jon Klassen's illustrations are quiet, delicate and nuanced, amplifying the text in fresh, original ways through the use of unexpected angles and perspective.
—The New York Times

Though there's a family involved, the real star of this multilayered modern parable is a plot of land...the artwork initially functions as stoic background for the story, with wide-angle perspectives filled with plenty of open space and muted colors. But in the second part, as the trees take over, Klassen's compositions command more and more attention, elbowing the text into the periphery and subtly reinforcing the themes in play... Unfolding with uncommon grace, the environmental heart of this story is revealed obliquely but powerfully.
—Booklist (starred review)

Poignant and lovely.
—Kirkus Reviews

This bittersweet tale is rife with tension, between young and old, order and chaos, yesterday and tomorrow. Poet Kooser's soft, plain narrative matches that tension, at once frank and nostalgic. Klassen's somber, dappled watercolors add to it, juxtaposing the house's rectilinear form against nature's organic shapes... This quiet elegy to the passage of time offers some simple and profound musings to contemplative young readers curious about the future and their role in it.
—The Horn Book

A lyrical, melancholy prose text by former U.S. poet laureate Kooser is paired with ethereal illustrations to tell the story of a house and the family who once lived there.
—School Library Journal

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...
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Readers will contend with the power of the natural world in this lyrical picture book, in which trees take over an abandoned house.
—Instructor

With ethereal, haunting illustrations by Jon Klassen, this memorable biography of a house will appeal to both young readers and adults.
—The Seattle Times

It is the kind of book that can be read again and again as it will inspire new conversation and discussion with each reading.
—7online.com (WABC-TV)