TWO HOMES, ONE HEART

A separation grows into expanded love.

After a couple—one who has shoulder-length black hair, the other red-haired and bearded—decide to live apart, their child navigates the ensuing changes. First, the bearded parent sets up a new home with help from the child, but soon the little one says goodbye and returns to the black-haired parent’s house. Then comes the inevitable question: “Are we still a family?” New experiences and traditions are formed, the new home adds a puppy, and the additional physical space creates room to metaphorically grow into. The child still spends time with both parents, but in different locations now, and later, all three attend a community-wide event. Through love continually shared, the two homes become more and more connected. Brief, rhyming verse flows well across the pages. Though the text is spare, the characters’ love for one another is palpable. The mixed-media illustrations are homey, populating the pages with long-limbed bodies and many cozy details. The established home and black-haired parent are awash in yellow, while the new home and bearded parent are dominated by shades of blue. The child, at first stuck in between, is an earthy green. But more green elements begin to appear in each house, with other colors seeping in to balance the scenes, and by the end a literal rainbow spans the homes. The family trio has pale skin.

Full of heart.