Welcome to the Wonder House

by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Georgia Heard, Deborah Freedman (Illustrator)

Overview

This collection of poems, creatively presented in the format of an allegorical house, will engage anyone who has ever wondered “why?” as it shows young readers that wonder is everywhere—in yourself and in the world around you.

Welcome to the Wonder House, a place to explore the cornerstone of every great thinker—a sense of wonder. This Wonder House has many rooms—one for nature, one for quiet, and one for mystery, among others. Each room is filled with poems and objects covering a wide variety of STEAM topics, including geology, paleontology, physics, astronomy, creative writing, and drawing, that will inspire curiosity in young readers.

This enchanting book written by award-winning poets Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Georgia Heard both sparks wonder and shows readers how to kindle it in themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635927627
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	07/11/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	93,193
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Rebecca Kai Dotlich is the author of many children's poetry and picture books that have won various honors, including the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award and the Golden Kite Honor Award. She lives near Indianapolis and gives presentations and workshops across the country. 

Georgia Heard, winner of the 2023 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children, is an internationally recognized expert in the teaching of writing for grades K-8. She works as a consultant in schools and districts around the world, and is longtime staff developer for the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.

Deborah Freedman has written and illustrated many picture books, including Carl and the Meaning of Life, Is Was, and Tiny Dino. Her books have been translated into nine languages, adopted in classrooms, and received many starred and rave reviews, honors, and awards, including SCBWI’s Crystal Kite Award and a Parent's Choice Gold Award.

Editorial Reviews

A School Library Journal Best Book
A CCBC Choice
A Bank Street Best Children's Book

★ "Crisp and concise, with internal rhymes and alliteration, these poems beg to be shared and read aloud. Freedman’s illustrations complement and add whimsical details, including a stargazing penguin and a scaly, red dragon glimpsed amidst a jumble of blocks...Thoughtful readers will relish the figurative language and imagery, and pore over the well-crafted illustrations. An excellent resource for teachers looking to inspire students in an array of topics, from science and nature studies to creative writing." —School Library Journal, starred review

★ "Set within 12 ethereal 'rooms,' 29 poems contemplate the wonders of Earth, sea, sky, and beyond...The poets infuse their verse with vibrant, child-accessible imagery....This slim volume teems with STEAM extensions, from exploring poetic forms and devices to investigating scientific facts and hypotheses. A beautifully conceived invitation: to look, see, wonder." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Twenty-nine poems in a lovely mix of forms and styles populate this book, presented as a 'house' with twelve double-page-spread 'rooms.'...Freedman’s intriguing mixed-media illustrations use wide washes of color in shades of blue, green, gold, or purple with subtle hints to the objects referenced in the poems." —The Horn Book

From the Publisher

★ 07/01/2023

Gr 4–6—A stellar collection of 29 brief poems and numerous mixed-media illustrations. Arranged into 12 "rooms," topics range from curiosity and wishes to science, nature, and ordinary things. Lyrical free verse captivates with rich imagery and language. In "Room of Praise," poems limn the qualities of rain, paper, and web-spinning spiders, described as "quiet as air, patient as monks." Crisp and concise, with internal rhymes and alliteration, these poems beg to be shared and read aloud. Freedman's illustrations complement and add whimsical details, including a stargazing penguin and a scaly, red dragon glimpsed amidst a jumble of blocks. In "Room of Creatures," a murky underwater scene features a sleepy dolphin and the tentacles of an otherwise unseen octopus. A concluding note suggests that readers "look and listen to the ordinary and extraordinary all around you. You'll find wonder everywhere." VERDICT Thoughtful readers will relish the figurative language and imagery, and pore over the well-crafted illustrations. An excellent resource for teachers looking to inspire students in an array of topics, from science and nature studies to creative writing.—Marilyn Taniguchi

School Library Journal

★ 2023-05-09
Set within 12 ethereal “rooms,” 29 poems contemplate the wonders of Earth, sea, sky, and beyond.

Co-authors Dotlich and Heard each offer one or more poems on each double-page spread. For “Room of Curiosity,” Dotlich lists 10 questions about Earth (as well as Saturn and meteorites), while Heard presents a two-line, koanlike verse: “Keep an open heart, / that’s where curiosity likes to start.” In “Room of Praise,” poems celebrate raindrops, house spiders, and paper: “the way it is so papery / as it waits for me / to trace my hand / or spill my heart.” The poets infuse their verse with vibrant, child-accessible imagery. A pond’s whirligig beetles twirl “like tiny bumper cars that never touch.” “Thunder drums the skin of sky, / striking / an / electric / scar / from cloud to cloud.” Freedman’s depictions of vaporous clouds and starry skies have a watercolorlike look. Against these miasmas, she places images of tools and utensils (a pencil appears repeatedly), windows, fire escape ladders, visual jokes, and more, in a palette contrasting warm earth tones with blue-grays that evoke water and sky; several pages are reminiscent of vintage scientific illustration. This slim volume teems with STEAM extensions, from exploring poetic forms and devices to investigating scientific facts and hypotheses. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A beautifully conceived invitation: to look, see, wonder. (Picture book/poetry. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews