Review: In the Tree House by Andrew Larson, Illustrated by Dusan Petricic

Ages: 4-8
Pages: 30
Publisher: Kids Can Press
*I received this book for review from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

A little boy has just moved to a new house in a new neighborhood.  He is excited to have his own room, but he can't seem to sleep.  Maybe he misses his brother who is now in his own room.  Counting sheep didn't help, so instead he began planning tree houses.  His brother and father begin helping with the planning and soon they begin building one.  That summer is great as he and his brother hang out in the tree house.  The next summer, however, his brother has outgrown the treehouse.  One night as the boy looks out over the neighborhood, the power goes out.  It's completely dark.  Everyone comes out of their houses with candles and flashlights and play hide and seek and drink lemonade.  The boy's brother asks to come up into the treehouse and they read comics together like old times.  When the power comes back on, everyone goes inside.  But not the brother.  He stays and they play cards together and watch the twinkling lights of the neighborhood from their treehouse.

This is an endearing story about two brothers, one special night, and a treehouse that shows that childhood can be a place as much as it can be a time.  When I was young my sister and my friends and I played a lot in the unfinished basement of my house.  My parents didn't have money for a trampoline so they put an old mattress and box springs set down there and hung gymnastics rings from the ceiling.  We would jump on the bed-trampoline and do flips on the rings.  The bed and the rings are gone now but the hooks are still in the ceiling and every time I look up at them I am hit with a wave of nostalgia.

When the blackout in the neighborhood happens, I think the brother found comfort in the old tree house.  He is growing up faster than his little brother, but there is still some innocence left in him and that makes for a special night for the pair.


First Line: "It's hot. Really hot."
Best Line: "We stay up and watch the twinkling lights of our sleepy neighborhood."
Best Words: flick, twinkling, crackles, quicksand, blackout

Ben's Book Briefs:
DS = Developmental Stages
E/S = Emotional & Social Development
O = Open-Ended

Kids!  Penelope Panda wants to know:

• Do you have a treehouse?  What do you like to play in your tree house?
• If you don't have a treehouse, do you have another special place to play like I did in my basement?
• If you could build the perfect treehouse, what would you include?

Adults!  Becca wants to know:

• What was your special playhouse/spot when you were a child?
• Does your child have a special spot? 
• What do you think about the book?