Welcome to My House

April 3, 2017
A cat named Olga leads readers through the rooms of an apartment on a manicured, European-style city block. Common household objects are grouped into broad categories. A spread labeled “Everything for resting,” shows off nearly a dozen places to recline, such as a chaise lounge, bathtub, and hammock. “Everything for working” includes a computer, notebook, and briefcase. Italian illustrator Stella works in a spare, grainy style with the look of screenprinting, and although there are hints of modern technology in the home, there’s a decidedly retro tinge to the art and choice of items, which include a record player, foosball table, and pink sewing machine. Olga’s opening plea (“Can you find me?”) adds an enjoyable seek-and-find element to this visually sophisticated book of common (and not-so-common) words. Ages 5–8.

April 15, 2017
This French import offers a visual feast of a domestic taxonomy. The first-person text's direct address invites readers to locate the narrator in the opening spread's depiction of a neighborhood. "Hello! My name is Olga. Can you find me? I live with my family on the second floor of the pale green apartment building." A light-skinned girl clad in blue stands in front of the building that fits this description, facing readers with her arms outstretched. Ensuing pages do not depict the girl and instead show groupings of various labeled items in the home: "Everything in the kitchen," "Everything for tinkering," and so on. Astute readers will track a black cat from page to page and notice that the one unlabeled item in the kitchen is a pet-food dish emblazoned with the name "Olga." At book's end the girl in blue is absent from a new exterior scene of the apartment building seen in the first spread, but the text reads "And here I am! Did you find me? I'm the one with the long whiskers," thus confirming the black cat as the narrator. The thematic groupings move beyond standard picture dictionaries into the conceptual: "Everything for warming up" includes "Mom" and "stationary bicycle" in addition to "wool socks"; "Everything that shows time passing" includes "trash can" and "mirror" as well as clocks and "calendar." Throughout, the illustrations balance detail with a clean aesthetic that prevents the pictures from feeling cluttered and invites close examination. The humans depicted are all white. An inventive spin on what's too often a strictly utilitarian format. (index) (Picture book. 3-7)

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