Homeplace by Anne Shelby

Shelby, Anne. Homeplace. Ill. by Wendy Anderson Halperin. New York: Orchard Books, 1995.

This book is a story of one family's experience in one home from older generations to the present. It begins with the 4 great grandparents and gives a young reader an idea of what each family did and continues forward with each generation to the child. It's a great book for explaining family relationships to young readers. While I enjoyed the illustrations, they are probably the biggest problem with the book. In places they are quite busy and probably trying to do too much for the age level which would be reading this. I do, however, think that they can encourage much more discussion about the daily lives of our ancestors with a parent who is willing to read this book aloud and take the time to really discuss the pictures.  3.5 stars.