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| House Held Up By Trees by Ted Kooser, illustrated by Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press, 2012) |
*Starred Review* Though there's a family
involved, the real star of this multilayered modern parable is a plot of
land. A father and two children live in a little house on a perfectly
groomed spot. The father mows the lawn and pulls the sproutlings left by
nearby trees with relentless determination while the kids play in the
lush neighboring woods. The family eventually moves on, and over the
years the abandoned house falls apart bit by bit, quietly and sadly. But
there's magic at play here, as the trees' seeds take root and grow and
grip the house and ever so slowly lift it from the ground high into the
air. Just as the trees are pushed out by the man in the first half, 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. The final picture
of the house held aloft by innumerable branches attests to the slow,
resolute power of nature, and Kooser's poetic writing lands on a quiet,
beautiful coda: it floats there like a tree house, a house in the trees,
a house held together by the strength of trees. Unfolding with uncommon
grace, the environmental heart of this story is revealed obliquely but
powerfully.--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2010 Booklist (review provided by Syndetics, Inc.)
Happy Earth Day tomorrow!
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