I honestly debated putting these two books together in one review. They are both about homes, but each with a radically different direction. One is about the closeness of home and family, while the other deals with homelessness and family. The only similarty is that both are future publications and read via an online reader. Yet, please find two books about home and what that means to the characters in these picture books.
A Forest, A Family, A Harbor, A Home by Nikki McClure (due October 2026) This is an amazingly sweet, soft, poet, and lyrical story of the warmth of home. Home is a place you live in, stay in when you need shelter and have a place to come back to after leaving to find your own path, or just the small, every day trips we take when we are young to explore. The imagery is cozy, but has a pop to it. The colors and details work to invoke emotions, the feelings, of a child growing up, becoming aware of the safety of things.
The Things We Hold by Vanessa Lewis-Porter and illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright (due September 2026) This story is not a sweet subject, but is handled in a considerate manner. The narrator, a young girl, is homeless. She does whatever she can to help her mother and little sister, while keeping their secret. The ordinary day to day events we take for granted, are monumental. And it’s only when a surprise encounter at their favorite shelter happens, does she realize she is not alone. The images are bright, but not overly so. There are good details and done in a more lighthearted manner to tone down the seriousness of the theme.
