  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 07/01/2013 PreS-Gr 2—A girl describes her family history as it relates to her home: "This is the house where my grandparents arrived from far away….These are the front steps where my mom and her brothers played on warm summer days….This is the street where I learned to walk, just like my mom." The snapshot quality of each statement is emphasized in the illustrations: each spread includes an informal slice-of-life scene as well as a framed picture of the relatives during that time. The cheerful pictures show a loving family enjoying life together, while seasonal changes and aging characters help show the passage of time. This is a story about nothing and about everything. There is no real plot or narrative, but it encompasses the lives of three generations. The intergenerational household may not be familiar to many modern American kids, but the idea of close family ties and treasured memories and places is universal. This quiet book could be an effective conversation starter about personal history at home or in the classroom.—Heidi Estrin, Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL - Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 08/01/2013 Yum’s latest resembles a photo album and follows a little girl offering up a historical tour of the house she shares with her parents, grandparents, and cat. She starts at the beginning, when her mother’s parents “arrived from far away with just two suitcases in hand.” On one side of the spread (here and throughout the book) is a watercolor framed like a photograph; the other side reveals a more complete view from the same time period. The story continues, inside and in front of the two-story attached home, through her mother’s childhood, departure for college, and return with “the boyfriend who would be my father.” Yum depicts the girl’s grandparents as warm and welcoming, even as nervous new parents, and the girl’s parents convey the same loving concern for their child. Some of the “framed” images pop up again on walls in later pages, suggesting how the young narrator learned the history she’s relaying. Even before the baby sibling is introduced on the last spread, this is a sweet tribute to continuity and togetherness. - Copyright 2013 Booklist. Loading...
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