The House In The Night (2009 Caldecott Medal Winner)

Author : Susan Marie Swanson
Illustrator : Beth Krommes
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN : 9780618862443
            (Buy / Borrow)

     Upon reading The House In The Night written by Susan Marie Swanson, illustrated by Beth Krommes, and published by Haughton Mifflin Harcourt during today, it immediately made me think of another children’s picture book that I’d read while caring for the young daughter of a friend.  I was incredibly thrilled then, that I'd decided that this post’s theme was to be of the text to text  comparison nature.
    The other piece of literature to which I am referring is a book entitled All The World, written by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee, and published by Beach Lane Books.  As I’ve recently learned, it is one of the Caldecott Honor recipients for 2010, although the copy I had the pleasure of exploring with my friend’s child did not reflect this fact.  The way the story line moves is reminiscent of the aforementioned Caldecott Award winner.  Additionally, I find the expansion of the illustrations of both books, which incorporate incrementally larger views of their respective environments, to be similar in nature.
    I do have slightly more of a preference for The House In The Night’s imagery and the way in which that imagery corresponds to the symmetry of the storyline.  I also feel that Krommes’s application of a lack of color with the exception of yellow representing “the light” to be genius in its simplicity despite its distinct ability to relate to and broaden that storyline so comprehensively.  There is little for anyone to wonder about with regard to the book’s worthiness of the Caldecott Award.
    That being said, I still have nothing but high praise for the creators of All The World.  The poetic beauty of Scanlon’s lyrical styling and depth shine as brightly as “the light” from The House In The Night, and Frazee’s artful illustration of sweeping panoramic vistas add any and every last bit of detail for young imaginations to feast upon visually. 
    Having had the experience I did with this book, I’m going to make a point of paying extra close attention not only to those illustrated books that have received the topmost of Caldecott honors, but also those that were in contention for the gold medal as well.  There is a wealth of extremely valuable and superbly assembled work to be explored and I surely would be remiss if, due to any lack of effort on my part, I did not take advantage of the opportunity to become acquainted with it.
    Learning of and understanding about how these two books relate with one another is useful to me as a future teacher of young children, but it is also useful to me as someone who reads.  I would not have been able to convey this experience and extend it to my students, had I not already worked through an exercise such as this text to text comparison.