The Storybarn Selects… From The Reader Bookshelf

As we continue to explore the Reader Bookshelf we've asked members of our Children & Young People Team to talk about their favourite children's books from the collection.

This week, Storybarn Manager Natalia Rojas, shares her thoughts on The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson.

Want to be taken away on a beautiful journey? The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson is a bedtime tale like no other. It takes you through a home, out a window, into a dark starry sky and all the way back home again. It is a stunning picture book that follows a simple yet striking storyline where you can see what brings light and warmth into a home.

It has a rhythmic text and dark imagery that highlights certain objects in a yellow hue, making them look like they are glowing.  This not only makes it easy for children to follow but opens up great questions for the readers. Questions like, why do you think this item is so bright? What makes it special? What is special in your house? There is so much to wonder about in this short little book making it perfect for our Children and Young People's bookshelf focusing on light and dark, reminding us that light, love and warmth can be found in simple things like a teddy bear, a bird's song or a book.

We love this book for many reasons but my favourite would have to be how it illustrates the magic of stories and how sometimes images or text on a page can take you on adventures that you could only ever imagine. Adventures that lighten you up and fill you with a childlike curiosity that you want to hold on to forever.

Words by Natalia Rojas.