The Lantern House written by Erin Napier and illustrated by Adam Trest is a lovely story about what it takes to make a house a home. The story is told in the first person according to the house.
The new occupants of a beautiful blue house are a man, a woman and their dog. They do many things that make the house a home. While the dog plays in the yard, the couple puts up a picket fence, plants many flowers and decorates the rooms inside. And then one day the couple brings home a baby girl!
The lovely illustrations rendered in acrylic ink and gouache show the girl growing up, getting married and having a child of her own. Her mother and father, however, are getting older but still enjoy quietly dancing on the beautiful back porch. As time moves on, however, there are fewer and fewer lighted windows in the house. And after a few years, there are none.
Then a new family, all full of energy and love, moves into the house. They paint the house yellow, put in new wallpaper, fix what needs to be fixed and sing and dance in the kitchen after dinner. The house says to the reader, “I am a very old house, a family is beginning a brand-new story here. I will keep them safe from the storms and warm in the winter. I am home.”
The Lantern House written by Erin Napier and illustrated by Adam Trest is a gentle story that will allow children 4-8 years of age to become more comfortable with change and to further understand the meaning of “home” (Little, Brown and Company, 2022).
The Children’s Bookshelf is a production of WCMU. Links to the podcast and Activity Questions can be found at Children’s Bookshelf dot org.
Activity Questions for The Lantern House
If you were to move into a new house what would you do to make it look more like a home on the outside? Think about such things as planting flowers, putting up a swing, constructing a sand box for your younger siblings, putting flowerpots on the porch, installing a basketball hoop for older siblings (with the help of Mom or Dad) and making an area for jumping rope and playing hopscotch for younger siblings. Make a list and get busy!
Draw a picture of the outside of the “home” you just described. Take your time. Use colored pencils or colored pens to clearly handle details. If you want to include family members in this picture, go ahead!
Older Readers: Suggest having discussions with family members who live in your house around the dinner table. Topics could include ways to engage everyone to help in the kitchen with the preparation of food or ways to share “what I did today” talks around the dinner table. Be prepared to start one of these discussions yourself to get things going. Hint: no phones allowed at the dinner table.
