In the Tree House

March 15, 2013
A tale reminiscent, but falling short, of John Rocco's 2012 Caldecott honor book, Blackout, depicts a boy longing for time with his big brother. First-person, retrospective narration recounts how, when the family moves to a new house, the boys build a treehouse with their father. A happy summertime ensues, with the brothers ensconced in their treetop perch, playing cards and reading comics. When they try to stargaze, though, city lights obscure the starlight. A year later, the little brother forlornly explains that this summer his elder sibling would rather hang out with friends than spend time with him. "So now I'm king of the castle. I can do whatever I want up here," reads text accompanied by a picture showing him as anything but happy about this prospect. Then a blackout occurs, and stars are suddenly visible. Neighbors pour into the street, using candles and flashlights and sharing ice cream before it melts. Best of all, the big brother ascends the treehouse ladder to play cards and look at comics by flashlight again. Even when the lights return and neighbors go inside, the brothers keep playing in the treehouse. The strongest illustrations follow the lead of the darkened cover art, but the book never achieves the visual brilliance of Rocco's more distinguished work. A melancholy story of changing relationships rather than a celebration of the excitement of a blackout. (Picture book. 3-6)

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April 1, 2013

K-Gr 2-A young boy's family has moved to a bigger house in a new neighborhood. There's a lot to like about it, but the child misses sharing a bedroom with his older brother. To help himself fall asleep at night, he begins to plan tree houses and later puts his plans to paper. Soon, his brother and father join him in the project, and they build a real tree house in the large backyard tree. It's a cool place, and the siblings enjoy their special hangout all summer long. By the next summer, however, the older brother is more interested in his own friends. It's lonely up in that tree house, until all the power goes out. Suddenly, stars are visible in the night sky, neighbors come out to socialize, and the boy and his older brother have time to renew their relationship. They read comics and play cards by flashlight, as in earlier times, and watch the twinkling lights come on in the neighborhood. The cartoonlike illustrations, many of them with crisp white backgrounds and several that are striking silhouettes, are done in pen-and-ink and colored with Photoshop. The layout of this small, oblong picture book is attractive, and the story is pleasant. A supplemental purchase for larger collections.-Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2013
Grades K-2 In this quietly resonant tale, a boy's tree house becomes a symbol of childhood itself. The unnamed boy recalls last summer, when his family moved into a house with a yard and, most important, a tree. He began sketching out spectacular ideas for a tree house, and his big brother joined in, and pretty soon even Dad was excited. Thus, the tree house was built, and once stocked with games and comic books, It was the best summer ever. But things are different now. His big brother has his own friends and doesn't climb the tree anymore. So now I'm the king of the castle, the boy narratesbut he looks rather sad about it. Then a neighborhood blackout changes the situation for one more perfect night. With the streets plunged into darkness, the big brother comes into the tree house, and the two play games for hours. Petricic's pen-and-inks alternate multiframe pages with spreads that reach across the book's wide length, and feature squiggly-lined characters against dramatic backgrounds (especially during the blackout). Heartfelt and subtle.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014
The narrator and his older brother enjoy their tree house until the summer when the elder brother switches loyalties to his friends. But one night there's a blackout in the neighborhood, precipitating a brotherly reunion. The story, inspired by true events, suffers from flat pacing, but the crisp narration and atmospheric illustrations of an electricity-free evening recommend the title.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)