A Home Named Walter
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A home named Walter learns how to heal his broken heart after a family he loves moves away in this poignant picture book about loss and renewal.
Walter was a happy home.
He loved the bustle and warmth of the family that lived with him. But when they move away, his feelings are hurt. He grows cold and quiet and only wants to be left alone.
So when a little girl and her mama move in, Walter is determined to get them out! But in his struggle to do so, Walter may just feel livable again and change how he feels.
Chelsea Lin Wallace has written a truly poignant story. With its classic sensibility, paired with Ginnie Hsu’s warm and lush illustrations, A Home Named Walter is a special story that will resonate with many readers for years to come.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A white clapboard dwelling with a face rendered on his roof and walls, Walter relishes the "hustle and bustle" of family life. When his residents, an interracial family of four, unexpectedly depart, he expresses hurt by letting "his grass turn brown and his plumbing rust." Before long, pale-skinned Mama and light-brown-skinned Little Girl arrive. At first, Walter (the story's only named character) tries various tricks to "Get. Them. Out," but when he observes Little Girl speaking to a photo ("I miss you, Papa"), pent-up sadness pours forth in the form of burst pipes. Simultaneously, Little Girl discovers a photo of Walter's previous occupants, allowing the pair to bond over their experiences of loss. In acrylic gouache, colored pencil, and digital art, Hsu depicts Walter with simple facial features, including a mouth that frowns, pouts, and eventually smiles, in conjunction with Lin Wallace's emotionally focused storytelling. Ages 4–8.
