The House by the Lake

Description

The House by the Lake

The Story of a Home and a Hundred Years of History

Thomas Harding, illustrated by Britta Teckentrup

(Walker Studio)

Writer Thomas Harding shares the story of The House by the Lake ‘on the outskirts of Berlin’. It begins with the ‘kind doctor and his cheery wife’ who want ‘to live with their four children away from the busy city‘. Thereafter, they enjoy an idyllic life of asparagus growing and bedtime stories. However years pass and the mood changes until ‘angry men in uniform’ order the family to leave.

A second family includes two boys who march ‘on the wooden floors’ while the house surrenders its metal guttering for guns. However the family departs when the father is instructed to join the war. At that point, the house stands abandoned apart from a couple who seek shelter ‘from the fear and the fighting‘. Thereafter, it is discovered by ‘a man with a fluffy hat‘ and ‘his two children‘. How might they make the house feel alive again? Moreover, could the ‘giant wall‘ built through the garden harm this chance of happiness? Might it usher in a time of spying and unending greyness?

The concept of homes and families, history and change is examined with such sympathy and foresight by Thomas Harding. Furthermore, the pictures are glorious. Somehow Britta Teckentrup is able to conjure up feelings of nostalgia, loss and hope. Her tones, colour palette and framing are sublime.

Bookwagon is awed and moved by The House By the Lake. We recommend it for home bookshelves and sharing in schools. This is a very special picture book that would be appreciated by readers of all ages.