PICTURES OF HOME

Thompson (The Paper Bag Prince, 1992) brings his extraordinary imagination and meticulously detailed style to surreal interpretations of some British schoolchildren's haiku- length descriptions of their homes (``Home is my parents./You should have love in all homes./Love is my parents.''—Ian, 10). The visual theme is cozily miniaturized houses, often complete with their own gardens, set in the larger environment—ensconced in a grass-green armchair with a smaller landscape in its lap; high in a tree (which in one case is growing from a bathtub); in the gatepost of a stately home; between the garbage pails in a paved-over backyard; nestled in a wheelbarrow. The juxtapositions are intriguing, while dozens of clues to the smaller mÇnages—the odd window, bicycle, or staircase—are tucked in unexpected corners of the larger ones. There's an occasional wry comment- -Tony's ``Home should have two computers'' gets a cold, elegantly austere setting—but mostly this is less a direct response to specific words than a unique tribute to British homes in all their variety. A fascinating book, to pore over and share. (Picture book. 5+)