YOU AND ME AND HOME SWEET HOME

Owning a home is arguably the American Dream, and children share in it. Third grader Sharonda and her mother live in a room at her aunt’s house. They are beginning to outstay their welcome when the church decides to build them a house of their own. Lyon masterfully tells Sharonda’s story, unfurling the child’s disbelief that her dream is coming true, the hard work and time volunteers contribute, Sharonda’s excitement as she sees the house being constructed, her anticipation of sleeping there and the joy and peace she feels when she and her mother walk through the door for the first time. Anderson’s watercolor-and–pastel-pencil illustrations burst off the page with energy and life, and readers will feel the thrill as the house goes up, step by step. The end pages depicting her current and future homes are wonderful touches. A heartfelt, welcome addition to any collection and a happy fictive complement to David Rubel’s If I Had a Hammer (2009), which celebrates Habitat for Humanity. (Picture book. 4-9)