Soft House
PreS-K. Quietly transcendent moments are at the heart of many of Yolen's picture books, and scenes of cozy domesticity are Halperin's stock-in-trade. These inclinations dovetail in the writer and illustrator's first joint project, about a sister and her younger brother passing the time--first irritably, later in harmony--on a rainy day. Salvaging the afternoon is a game of "soft house," the siblings' term for building a private hideaway with chairs, cushions, and blankets. Yolen's text never quite achieves enough dramatic interest, despite a subplot involving a scary attic where the blankets are stored. But siblings will recognize the dynamic between brother and sister, and all children will relate to the thrill of creating a nook all their own. Leave time for lingering over Halperin's delicate pencil-and-watercolor illustrations. Embellished with quilt-fabric patterns and panels suggestive of stained-glass windows, they radiate nostalgia for an era when "home entertainment" was a do-it-yourself concept. For another book about creative play, look to Holly Meade'sInside, Inside, Inside!(2005).Jennifer MattsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.