  | Heart of our home Author: Washington, Janelle | |
| Price: $23.98 | ||
Summary:
A child reflects on the heart of their family home, the wooden kitchen table, as a place for meals, homework, celebrations, and memories through times of joy and sorrow.
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (03/01/26)
School Library Journal (+) (05/15/26)
Booklist (02/01/26)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 02/01/2026 The kitchen table is the center of so much more than just everyday meals with the immediate family: games, drawing, homework, spreading out to cook together, gathering extended family and friends for holidays and play dates. More than furniture, the table is a uniting element that is the heart of the home. At Washington’s table, brothers, parents, and other relatives are depicted with varying skin tones, but everyone belongs. Many aspects of life are discussed in a natural manner. Sometimes a child is in trouble and receives some life lessons at the table. It’s also where the girl’s mother washes and braids her hair, or where the family lights a kinara, although Kwanzaa isn’t named. Everyone may be getting together at the table because there has been a death or maybe to celebrate a birthday or graduation. As in the Caldecott Honor–winning Choosing Brave (2022), Washington creates the detailed illustrations by hand-cutting black paper, then adding colored tissue and handmade paper for additional layers. The love and warmth the family shares glows on each page. - Copyright 2026 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 05/15/2026 PreS-Gr 3—The kitchen table is the heart of many homes, and Washington's poignant story reminds readers of the importance of this piece of furniture: it is not just a place where people eat but also a a site of conversation, laughter, learning, and even tears. Acclaimed illustrator Washington makes her authorial debut with this book inspired by her childhood kitchen table and how it brought together her family, friends, and neighbors. The striking paper-cut illustrations are bright, warm, and engaging, inviting readers to discuss how the kitchen table is important in their own homes. This book can be used to spark a conversation about cultural and family traditions. Characters have varying shades of brown and Black skin with diverse hair textures. The back matter includes photos of the author as a child at her own kitchen table. VERDICT A beautiful, relatable, and must-have picture book that honors the kitchen table as a uniting force.—Jazmyne Baylor - Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
