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House Held Up by Trees
From Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ted Kooser and rising talent Jon Klassen comes a poignant tale of loss, change, and nature's quiet triumph.
When the house was new, not a single tree remained on its perfect lawn to give shade from the sun. The children in the house trailed the scent of wild trees to neighboring lots, where thick bushes offered up secret places to play. When the children grew up and moved away, their father, alone in the house, continued his battle against blowing seeds, plucking out sprouting trees. Until one day the father, too, moved away, and as the empty house began its decline, the trees began their approach. At once wistful and exhilarating, this lovely, lyrical story evokes the inexorable passage of time — and the awe-inspiring power of nature to lift us up.
When the house was new, not a single tree remained on its perfect lawn to give shade from the sun. The children in the house trailed the scent of wild trees to neighboring lots, where thick bushes offered up secret places to play. When the children grew up and moved away, their father, alone in the house, continued his battle against blowing seeds, plucking out sprouting trees. Until one day the father, too, moved away, and as the empty house began its decline, the trees began their approach. At once wistful and exhilarating, this lovely, lyrical story evokes the inexorable passage of time — and the awe-inspiring power of nature to lift us up.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 27, 2012
4 people are currently reading
1100 people want to read
About the author
Ted Kooser
102 books301 followersTed Kooser lives in rural Nebraska with his wife, Kathleen, and three dogs. He is one of America's most noted poets, having served two terms as U. S. Poet Laureate and, during the second term, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his collection, Delights & Shadows. He is a retired life insurance executive who now teaches part-time at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. The school board in Lincoln, Nebraska, recently opened Ted Kooser Elementary School, which Ted says is his greatest honor, among many awards and distinctions. He has published twelve collections of poetry and three nonfiction books. Two of the latter are books on writing, The Poetry Home Repair Manual and Writing Brave and Free, and a memoir, Lights on a Ground of Darkness (all from University of Nebraska Press. Bag in the Wind from Candlewick is his first children's book, with which he is delighted. "It's wonderful," Ted said, "to be writing for young people. I am reinventing myself at age 70."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 336 reviews
February 24, 2018
Rereading for Spring 2018 cli fi class.
Ted Kooser was U. S. poet laureate 2004-2006. I've been reading his poetry, and saw this, which is not poetry, but which I absolutely loved, a picture book with gorgeous art by one of my favorite illustrators, Jon Klaasen. I am also reading Eaarth, by Bill McKibben, which has has helped confirm my view that within a century or two the planet will be here and we humans will very very likely be gone. So this book as it goes on feeds into my fear/realization in a way, but then it undermines or complicates those fears in another also powerful, maybe more spiritual way. Let me explain:
A guy clears trees to build a house on a prairie. He wants a perfect lawn and clips every evidence of a tree that makes it to the surface. The way millions have approached vegetation in the last couple centuries, to privilege grass over trees and prairie! It's man's "dominion" over nature, promoting a certain aesthetic (classically, neatly cut grass vs wild, romantic, unrestrained prairie).
The guy loves his lawn, but his two kids love the neighboring woods (trees, right), where all the rich diverse ecosystem exists for play and discovery. As with the Rainforest, this forest and prairie needs to do what it needs to do, grow!
The children grow up and move away and Dad continues his battle against seeds becoming sprouting trees, chopping off every evidence of a seedling every chance he gets, to the very end, when one day he too moves to the city and no one buys the house, so naturally, nature begins to takes over, and the scene begins to look like the story supports McKibben's point about nature quietly asserting itself after we have destroyed it.
But then something surreal happens that would be more of interest to imaginative kids (and me) than coherent story lovers: The trees indeed do take over the house, but instead of destroying it, as you will expect, the trees lift that house up in the air (hence the title!! You forgot the title??! Well, I did forget it, when reading it, actually. . . ) and what is evoked finally is not so much a sad allegory about loss (though there is a bit of sadness in there, of course) so much as a celebration of life lived, of mystery, of nature as a force of beauty, not as peripheral to humankind, but central to living with it in harmony. The house and its life there is preserved, in a way, and not just destroyed. McKibben would probably like that positive rendition of our part in the environment, too.
Note to teacher self: We also read in this class J. G. Ballard's The Drowned World, which depicts an over-heated planet diminishing the human population and returning to Triassic period oversized flora and fauna, retaking the Earth, which again, is discussed as a possibly just fine--if not so good for humans--thing biologically for the planet, part of a process.
Klaasen's art is spare and lovely and fits the rural plains and contemplation. Such a great picture book!
Ted Kooser was U. S. poet laureate 2004-2006. I've been reading his poetry, and saw this, which is not poetry, but which I absolutely loved, a picture book with gorgeous art by one of my favorite illustrators, Jon Klaasen. I am also reading Eaarth, by Bill McKibben, which has has helped confirm my view that within a century or two the planet will be here and we humans will very very likely be gone. So this book as it goes on feeds into my fear/realization in a way, but then it undermines or complicates those fears in another also powerful, maybe more spiritual way. Let me explain:
A guy clears trees to build a house on a prairie. He wants a perfect lawn and clips every evidence of a tree that makes it to the surface. The way millions have approached vegetation in the last couple centuries, to privilege grass over trees and prairie! It's man's "dominion" over nature, promoting a certain aesthetic (classically, neatly cut grass vs wild, romantic, unrestrained prairie).
The guy loves his lawn, but his two kids love the neighboring woods (trees, right), where all the rich diverse ecosystem exists for play and discovery. As with the Rainforest, this forest and prairie needs to do what it needs to do, grow!
The children grow up and move away and Dad continues his battle against seeds becoming sprouting trees, chopping off every evidence of a seedling every chance he gets, to the very end, when one day he too moves to the city and no one buys the house, so naturally, nature begins to takes over, and the scene begins to look like the story supports McKibben's point about nature quietly asserting itself after we have destroyed it.
But then something surreal happens that would be more of interest to imaginative kids (and me) than coherent story lovers: The trees indeed do take over the house, but instead of destroying it, as you will expect, the trees lift that house up in the air (hence the title!! You forgot the title??! Well, I did forget it, when reading it, actually. . . ) and what is evoked finally is not so much a sad allegory about loss (though there is a bit of sadness in there, of course) so much as a celebration of life lived, of mystery, of nature as a force of beauty, not as peripheral to humankind, but central to living with it in harmony. The house and its life there is preserved, in a way, and not just destroyed. McKibben would probably like that positive rendition of our part in the environment, too.
Note to teacher self: We also read in this class J. G. Ballard's The Drowned World, which depicts an over-heated planet diminishing the human population and returning to Triassic period oversized flora and fauna, retaking the Earth, which again, is discussed as a possibly just fine--if not so good for humans--thing biologically for the planet, part of a process.
Klaasen's art is spare and lovely and fits the rural plains and contemplation. Such a great picture book!
February 20, 2018
We really didn't like this story. Two children live with their father, their mother is not around. Whilst their Dad is obsessed with keeping a tidy lawn the children play in the woods. The children grow up and move away, eventually their father follows and puts the house up for sale.
We found this a depressing read. Similar in theme to The Green Ship, dealing with loss and time passing but without any joy to balance the sadness. There seemed to be no joy in this book at all. Lots of goodreads friends really liked this story but we both found it very bleak for a children's book.
We found this a depressing read. Similar in theme to The Green Ship, dealing with loss and time passing but without any joy to balance the sadness. There seemed to be no joy in this book at all. Lots of goodreads friends really liked this story but we both found it very bleak for a children's book.
April 26, 2018
Mellon Collie, this story sets a mood. My niece sad, this story makes me feel sad. The story evokes many emotions without really trying. I think he does it by putting meaning in the house by the people who live there. The house doesn't have awareness, but we know it is all lone. It is very poetic and interesting how the author does this.
The art is lovely and sparse. It adds to the tone of the book. Nature will reclaim her space after we are gone. I can't say this is a favorite book, but I love how it brought out thinking and feelings from the story from something so simple. I have to give it props for that. I also can't say the kids seem to enjoy it either, although they did think having a house in the trees would be exciting.
I enjoyed the emotions this story evoked. It is well done and so interesting.
The art is lovely and sparse. It adds to the tone of the book. Nature will reclaim her space after we are gone. I can't say this is a favorite book, but I love how it brought out thinking and feelings from the story from something so simple. I have to give it props for that. I also can't say the kids seem to enjoy it either, although they did think having a house in the trees would be exciting.
I enjoyed the emotions this story evoked. It is well done and so interesting.
October 11, 2012
Absolutely stunning! It has gorgeous illustrations and an emotionally powerful story. It touched me deeply. For some reason the last page disappointed me, just a bit. I’m not sure how I would have preferred it to end.
But, who is this for?! It’s for me; I loved it. I would have loved it as an older child too. But, it’s extremely sad, maybe even depressing, and I don’t know if it’s for young kids. Perhaps thoughtful and introspective kids, kids who’ve experienced loss, and kids who are huge fans of trees might be as wowed as I was, but I can’t say I’d recommend this book to anyone who is especially sensitive to dark stories filled with loss.
4 ½ stars, just missing 5 stars, mostly because I wasn’t quite satisfied with the last page
nope, it's too special: 5 stars it is
But, who is this for?! It’s for me; I loved it. I would have loved it as an older child too. But, it’s extremely sad, maybe even depressing, and I don’t know if it’s for young kids. Perhaps thoughtful and introspective kids, kids who’ve experienced loss, and kids who are huge fans of trees might be as wowed as I was, but I can’t say I’d recommend this book to anyone who is especially sensitive to dark stories filled with loss.
4 ½ stars, just missing 5 stars, mostly because I wasn’t quite satisfied with the last page
nope, it's too special: 5 stars it is
February 8, 2017
I was so excited for this. But I'm totally disappointed. Is it because I grew up in the country and am so familiar that with woods taking over old houses that it seems boring to talk about it? Not really, because I love the video in which Kooser talks about this book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fak0n.... Is it because I enjoyed that video, and naturally wanted the book to be even more moving and richer? Is it because I read the poem Kooser referred to, "The Listeners" by Walter de la Mare, and naturally expected poetry from Kooser, one of our Poets Laureate? Is it because I can't settle on whether to read it from my adult perspective, or from that of my inner child?
I dunno. I just know that the book fell flat, imo, and I cannot recommend you go to any special effort to find it.
I dunno. I just know that the book fell flat, imo, and I cannot recommend you go to any special effort to find it.
October 3, 2014
A quiet and lonely little picture book, recommended for children who are not melancholy.
April 6, 2012
This was unexpectedly sad – I was imagining whimsical forest tree houses from the cover art. A single-parent dad raises his two children in an isolated house with an immaculate lawn (which he keeps in check). The kids love the nearby forest and spend much of their time there. When they are older, they leave home and dad decides to move into town so that he’s not so alone. The house (and lawn) is abandoned (he tries to sell it, but there are no buyers) and eventually the trees reclaim it – growing up close around the house and lifting it from its foundation and into the air. It was sad when the kids left, sad when the dad left, sad when the house fell apart because no one was there to care for it. While it’s wonderful (and hopeful) that nature can eventually heal and erase the scars that we leave behind, this tale wasn’t as uplifting as the trees that raised the house - the theme was more abandonment than anything else. Did the trees care about the house? Will anyone stumble upon it and know its story? Love the illustrations – shades of nature with a watercolor-like wash/translucence. Not sure how to feel about the house – wish there had been more connection between the man (or his children) and what happened to their home.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2013
My coworker (a teen librarian) and I got into a talk about "librarian books" versus "books kids actually like." There is (obviously) a lot of crossover here, but I feel like there are some books that win awards and every librarian I know loves but that don't really entice children or teens. This felt like one of those books to me. The illustrations are amazing. I love Klassen. LOVE HIM! And the fact that he made 3 books last year that I would have readily given a Caldecott to is nothing short of amazing. But is this a book that kids will love? I just don't know. The story seems too rooted in nostalgia and things adults love. I love the wonder and whimsy that gets introduced in the end, but wonder if a lot of kids are going to make it that far. Maybe I'm being too harsh. I did enjoy this book, but I just struggled to think of a child that I really thought would connect with it.
November 24, 2019
"Not far from here, I have seen a house held up by the hands of trees. This is its story." So reads the brief note on the title page of this lovely, contemplative picture-book from poet Ted Kooser, the United States Poet Laureate from 2004 through 2006. In simple but evocative language, Kooser relates the house's story, from the time it was first built, with its scrupulously kept lawn, through its years as the family home of a man and his two children, to its slow deterioration, after being abandoned by the man, when his children grow up and move away. Eventually, the encroaching trees reoccupy both lawn and house, growing around the slowing disintegrating structure and keeping it together, even as they uproot it.
There is a melancholy quality to House Held Up By Trees, a sense of the inexorable passage of time, and of the impermanence of people in the natural landscape. Although the family's lives do enter the picture - the father's care of the lawn, the brother and sister's time in the nearby woods - the narrative is focused house-ward, and the result is somewhat disquieting. Anyone who played near an old derelict building as a child - we had an old carriage house behind my own childhood home, that was slowly going to ruin - will recognize the simultaneous feelings of attraction and menace to be found here. The artwork, done by Jon Klassen, is just beautiful, emphasizing the centrality of the house to this story, as opposed to the marginal human figures. I'm not really sure, all told, who the appropriate audience for this one would be, and I have seen other reviewers question whether it is intended for children at all. It's hard to say. I think I would have been appreciated it as a girl, but then, the melancholy has always spoken to me...
There is a melancholy quality to House Held Up By Trees, a sense of the inexorable passage of time, and of the impermanence of people in the natural landscape. Although the family's lives do enter the picture - the father's care of the lawn, the brother and sister's time in the nearby woods - the narrative is focused house-ward, and the result is somewhat disquieting. Anyone who played near an old derelict building as a child - we had an old carriage house behind my own childhood home, that was slowly going to ruin - will recognize the simultaneous feelings of attraction and menace to be found here. The artwork, done by Jon Klassen, is just beautiful, emphasizing the centrality of the house to this story, as opposed to the marginal human figures. I'm not really sure, all told, who the appropriate audience for this one would be, and I have seen other reviewers question whether it is intended for children at all. It's hard to say. I think I would have been appreciated it as a girl, but then, the melancholy has always spoken to me...
April 22, 2012
My expectations for this book very high, and, alas, they were dashed as I read this book. I love Ted Kooser's poetry, so I was beside myself when I learned he had written two children's books. The first one (Bag in the Wind) was nice enough, but I found it to be boring.
With a title like HOUSE HELD UP BY TREES, I thought this title had a lot more potential. The book, however, is sad and depressing. Who is Kooser's audience here? The story follows the deterioration of a house after it is abandoned by a single father whose two grown children have left him. Not until the final few pages does the house even move into the air. (I thought the house would be in the trees the whole time.)
Children would be saddened, depressed, and bored if you read this book to them. Sorry, Ted. I love your poetry, but you've whiffed on two children's books so far. Will you dare write another one?
On a side note, Jon Klassen's illustrations are BEAUTIFUL, so that saves the book from having a 2/5 rating.
With a title like HOUSE HELD UP BY TREES, I thought this title had a lot more potential. The book, however, is sad and depressing. Who is Kooser's audience here? The story follows the deterioration of a house after it is abandoned by a single father whose two grown children have left him. Not until the final few pages does the house even move into the air. (I thought the house would be in the trees the whole time.)
Children would be saddened, depressed, and bored if you read this book to them. Sorry, Ted. I love your poetry, but you've whiffed on two children's books so far. Will you dare write another one?
On a side note, Jon Klassen's illustrations are BEAUTIFUL, so that saves the book from having a 2/5 rating.
June 25, 2012
I love Ted Kooser's poetry but, come on man, this is not a story for children. The idea of a house lifted into the air by trees could be both humorous and awe-inspiring, but here both text and pictures are somber and boring. Reading this book to my grandson would be like taking the kid to a funeral.
October 14, 2016
Beautiful lyrical story that appeals to my treehugging roots.
Read with:
Our Tree Named Steve
The Night Gardener by Terry Fan
Grandpa Green
Read with:
Our Tree Named Steve
The Night Gardener by Terry Fan
Grandpa Green
August 12, 2013
This book was alright. I had high expectations since I've had it on my To Read list for a long time.
My fiance and I read it in the children's section sitting at the little table in the little chairs.
The illustrations were emotional and dynamic. The most striking one to me was the one which showed the father after his children had grown up and left, and he finally took a break and rested. And the sun was setting and its vibrant orange was the only hope in the picture. The father was sad and lonely and the inside of the house was stark and grey. It was a powerful image and we looked at it for a long time. There was also an image near the end where the trees are growing around the house, and the illustration shows the branches scraping the paint off of the sides of the house as the grow and blow in the wind. I thought that was a great detail. The trees seemed very passionate and aggressive in their pursuit of the house. It was also an eerie image, like human fingernails or animal claws raking the walls.
My fiance and I have read I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen and really enjoyed it. They have range as an illustrator to go from a humorous book like that to a reflective serious one like this.
The thing which disappointed me about this book is that I wanted to know more about what happened AFTER the house was held up by trees! I think that is the strongest point of the concept of this story. But the book ends right as the trees finally lift up the house! I think a cool ending would be that another boy and girl would stumble upon the house when they're exploring the area and use the house as a tree house and play in it once more.
Or, I just wanted to know about the original boy and girl. Maybe they come back to visit the house, or one of them who is married comes back to raise their children in it.
And they could parallel their parenting to that of their father's, where they don't mow the lawn or cut the trees and let nature be. That would be a great message.
It was just anti-climatic for me when at the end, it shows the cover illustration and feels so abrupt.
The vagueness does add to the mysterious atmosphere of the story, but I wanted to see more resolve and heart. This story has so much potential and I just think there could be more done with it.
My favorite aspect was the element of possessiveness, which I think is beautiful.
That the trees and the house finally collided. The trees almost seem sinister in their consumption of the house, but I think it's really that they were just desperate to be close to it after all those years of being held back by the father. The most uplifting part of the story is that the trees finally got what they wanted; to be with the house. They were free.
The book description says:
"At once wistful and exhilarating, this lovely, lyrical story evokes the inexorable passage of time — and the awe-inspiring power of nature to lift us up."
Well, I didn't find the book uplifting. I felt very distant as the reader the whole time, as none of the characters were really explored or defined. They were one-dimensional. There was none to sympathize with other than the house and the trees. The father was the human character that the book focused on the most.
The story felt cold to me and I expected warmth in a 'sentimental' story about time passing and children growing up and change.
And since the book didn't focus on the human characters more, than I want to see the house and trees explored more; again, their relationship AFTER the trees hold up the house! Maybe there could be an environmental message made there. And just more of an exploration of nature.
I don't see a particular message in this story, because it ended so abrupt. The book description makes this book sound detailed and promising, and even epic-but the plot is simple and stark, just like the father's empty room.
Good potential though, and the concepts and illustrations make it worth a read.
My fiance and I read it in the children's section sitting at the little table in the little chairs.
The illustrations were emotional and dynamic. The most striking one to me was the one which showed the father after his children had grown up and left, and he finally took a break and rested. And the sun was setting and its vibrant orange was the only hope in the picture. The father was sad and lonely and the inside of the house was stark and grey. It was a powerful image and we looked at it for a long time. There was also an image near the end where the trees are growing around the house, and the illustration shows the branches scraping the paint off of the sides of the house as the grow and blow in the wind. I thought that was a great detail. The trees seemed very passionate and aggressive in their pursuit of the house. It was also an eerie image, like human fingernails or animal claws raking the walls.
My fiance and I have read I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen and really enjoyed it. They have range as an illustrator to go from a humorous book like that to a reflective serious one like this.
The thing which disappointed me about this book is that I wanted to know more about what happened AFTER the house was held up by trees! I think that is the strongest point of the concept of this story. But the book ends right as the trees finally lift up the house! I think a cool ending would be that another boy and girl would stumble upon the house when they're exploring the area and use the house as a tree house and play in it once more.
Or, I just wanted to know about the original boy and girl. Maybe they come back to visit the house, or one of them who is married comes back to raise their children in it.
And they could parallel their parenting to that of their father's, where they don't mow the lawn or cut the trees and let nature be. That would be a great message.
It was just anti-climatic for me when at the end, it shows the cover illustration and feels so abrupt.
The vagueness does add to the mysterious atmosphere of the story, but I wanted to see more resolve and heart. This story has so much potential and I just think there could be more done with it.
My favorite aspect was the element of possessiveness, which I think is beautiful.
That the trees and the house finally collided. The trees almost seem sinister in their consumption of the house, but I think it's really that they were just desperate to be close to it after all those years of being held back by the father. The most uplifting part of the story is that the trees finally got what they wanted; to be with the house. They were free.
The book description says:
"At once wistful and exhilarating, this lovely, lyrical story evokes the inexorable passage of time — and the awe-inspiring power of nature to lift us up."
Well, I didn't find the book uplifting. I felt very distant as the reader the whole time, as none of the characters were really explored or defined. They were one-dimensional. There was none to sympathize with other than the house and the trees. The father was the human character that the book focused on the most.
The story felt cold to me and I expected warmth in a 'sentimental' story about time passing and children growing up and change.
And since the book didn't focus on the human characters more, than I want to see the house and trees explored more; again, their relationship AFTER the trees hold up the house! Maybe there could be an environmental message made there. And just more of an exploration of nature.
I don't see a particular message in this story, because it ended so abrupt. The book description makes this book sound detailed and promising, and even epic-but the plot is simple and stark, just like the father's empty room.
Good potential though, and the concepts and illustrations make it worth a read.
April 8, 2012
An older house, fallen into disrepair, is supported by the trees that grow around it and eventually hold it aloft within their branches.
In 2010, Ted Kooser gave us BAG IN THE WIND (Candlewick). I had always wanted really good things to happen to and for that title which was illustrated by Barry Root. I thought Kooser's prose read like pure poetry and Roots's illustrations could have stood completely alone, which made the whole of the title so special for me.
And I think this is the very thing about these kinds of books that don't feature farting dogs or lost hats or invitations to push, press, or fold (please don't get me wrong here--I love these too. Farting dogs--giggle).
But these gentle books that land without much fanfare? Here's one I found today at Carmichael's, an independent bookseller in Louisville. I had just dropped the children off at the start of the Frankfort Avenue Easter Parade and I knew that I would get a chance to stop in the bookstore before they passed that location. There, in the new offerings was HOUSE HELD UP BY TREES, the newest title from former U. S. Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser.
This time, Kooser teams up with Jon Klassen (who by way of illustrator terms is becoming like the Rianna of children's books and covers--and I mean this with much love, Jon). Authors and publishing houses just seem to want Jon working on their projects. And here, Klassen employs his sense of timeless approach to illustration to bring Kooser's prose to life. A quiet, unassuming life that may very well mean that HOUSE HELD UP BY TREES will have the same quiet following and love of that found by BAG IN THE WIND.
Here is why I will grant five stars and lobby for five more for this book. It's beautiful. The writing reads like pure poetry and the whole of the book would work well as a mentor text to demonstrate to younger writers how to find that piece of detail or that singular comment in a piece of writing that puts that piece of writing over the top. Sometimes it's a description. Sometimes it's an evaluation of how things are. Kooser is a master at this technique.
In early descriptions of the property surrounding the house:
"Beneath the trees were bushes so thickly woven together that you had to crawl on your hands and knees to get to the cool and shadowy secret places inside."
or the house found in transition after the children grow and the father moves away:
"As it happened, nobody wanted to buy the house. Nobody could explain why, but it just didn't seem like a house where anybody wanted to live. That happens sometimes."
and as the saplings become little trees which "interact" with the old house:
"When the wind blew, they waved back and forth, making dark arcs on the fading paint."
There is one small detail in the illustrations that I hope younger readers find while reading this quiet little book.
And I hope classroom teachers DO find HOUSE HELD UP BY TREES for discussions--sure--but also for that quiet read-aloud that brings the group back to center to sit, listen, and quietly contemplate.
In 2010, Ted Kooser gave us BAG IN THE WIND (Candlewick). I had always wanted really good things to happen to and for that title which was illustrated by Barry Root. I thought Kooser's prose read like pure poetry and Roots's illustrations could have stood completely alone, which made the whole of the title so special for me.
And I think this is the very thing about these kinds of books that don't feature farting dogs or lost hats or invitations to push, press, or fold (please don't get me wrong here--I love these too. Farting dogs--giggle).
But these gentle books that land without much fanfare? Here's one I found today at Carmichael's, an independent bookseller in Louisville. I had just dropped the children off at the start of the Frankfort Avenue Easter Parade and I knew that I would get a chance to stop in the bookstore before they passed that location. There, in the new offerings was HOUSE HELD UP BY TREES, the newest title from former U. S. Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser.
This time, Kooser teams up with Jon Klassen (who by way of illustrator terms is becoming like the Rianna of children's books and covers--and I mean this with much love, Jon). Authors and publishing houses just seem to want Jon working on their projects. And here, Klassen employs his sense of timeless approach to illustration to bring Kooser's prose to life. A quiet, unassuming life that may very well mean that HOUSE HELD UP BY TREES will have the same quiet following and love of that found by BAG IN THE WIND.
Here is why I will grant five stars and lobby for five more for this book. It's beautiful. The writing reads like pure poetry and the whole of the book would work well as a mentor text to demonstrate to younger writers how to find that piece of detail or that singular comment in a piece of writing that puts that piece of writing over the top. Sometimes it's a description. Sometimes it's an evaluation of how things are. Kooser is a master at this technique.
In early descriptions of the property surrounding the house:
"Beneath the trees were bushes so thickly woven together that you had to crawl on your hands and knees to get to the cool and shadowy secret places inside."
or the house found in transition after the children grow and the father moves away:
"As it happened, nobody wanted to buy the house. Nobody could explain why, but it just didn't seem like a house where anybody wanted to live. That happens sometimes."
and as the saplings become little trees which "interact" with the old house:
"When the wind blew, they waved back and forth, making dark arcs on the fading paint."
There is one small detail in the illustrations that I hope younger readers find while reading this quiet little book.
And I hope classroom teachers DO find HOUSE HELD UP BY TREES for discussions--sure--but also for that quiet read-aloud that brings the group back to center to sit, listen, and quietly contemplate.
July 26, 2012
Haunting story with beautiful illustrations. A house with a rather energetically mowing father is eventually abandoned and the trees quite literally and realistically take it over, until the last page, where there is a slight leap into the magical. One of the things I like best about the book was that the trees feel a bit menacing, particularly with the dark illustrations. Some children will likely find this story scary. I found this book with its nature takes over theme mesmerizing and thought provoking, especially as the trees both destroy and support. Occasionally the juxtaposition of the life of the father and progress of the trees seems jarring.
November 4, 2012
Very lyrical, imaginative, with lovely illustrations. I love that this can stand on its own as a fable-y experience, but also that it could be so powerful to introduce this as a text to a young writer along with this video (http://youtu.be/fak0ne7nb3Y) and discuss the provenance of ideas, and how inspiration takes artists from what they know to someplace new.
NYT Best Illustrated 2012
NYT Best Illustrated 2012
March 16, 2012
Gorgeous, text and image.
June 18, 2012
Hypnotic when read aloud. Quiet and beautiful.
Less of a story, more just sort of is.
Less of a story, more just sort of is.
December 11, 2016
Beautiful illustrations and a story that seems really sad sometimes -- but I loved it.
February 6, 2018
Art speaks to my soul more than words do. But this put art and words together quite well. I love it very much. It’s sad. It’s life. It’s beautiful.
August 16, 2021
I love Kooser's poetry, and I love Klassen's picture books, so I was expecting A LOT when I saw they had created a picture book together. This did not deliver. I thought this would be one of Kooser's poems made into a picture book, but it is not; it looks like Kooser wrote this text specifically for a picture book. The artwork was fine, but not special enough to make up for what I felt was a flat, sad story.
The story is certainly poignant and wistful, I assume this is the fictional backstory Kooser created based on an actual house he has seen "held up by trees." Maybe this was a story he told his own son or grandchildren about a house they saw in the neighborhood. But I don't see this book holding much appeal for children.
Basically, this single dad and his two children (where is mom? we don't know) move into a house on an open lot surrounded by trees. Dad works very very hard for decades keeping his lawn pristine, no trees at all. The kids spend their childhood playing in the wooded area behind their yard. Everyone gets older, the kids move away, Dad's back hurts but he keeps working hard to maintain his lawn. I feel his pain, my back hurts every time I go out to do some yardwork!! Dad moves into town to be closer to his kids, hoping they will invite him to dinner, and that just made me so sad! He puts the house up for sale, but no one buys it and I really felt that pain!! I guess I got pretty caught up in how hard and sad and lonely the Dad's life was, and I didn't like it.
Long story short, the house is never sold, it gradually falls into major disrepair, windows broken, roof falling in, trees growing all around it, and eventually the trees lift the house up off its foundation. The engineer in me wanted to know a lot more about how this affected the plumbing and electrical connections under the house. Was there a basement?
Growing up in NJ, where the population density is high and land is precious, I had NEVER seen an abandoned house. Then I moved up to NY state, and they are everywhere! But I've never seen a house actually lifted up by trees.
The story is certainly poignant and wistful, I assume this is the fictional backstory Kooser created based on an actual house he has seen "held up by trees." Maybe this was a story he told his own son or grandchildren about a house they saw in the neighborhood. But I don't see this book holding much appeal for children.
Basically, this single dad and his two children (where is mom? we don't know) move into a house on an open lot surrounded by trees. Dad works very very hard for decades keeping his lawn pristine, no trees at all. The kids spend their childhood playing in the wooded area behind their yard. Everyone gets older, the kids move away, Dad's back hurts but he keeps working hard to maintain his lawn. I feel his pain, my back hurts every time I go out to do some yardwork!! Dad moves into town to be closer to his kids, hoping they will invite him to dinner, and that just made me so sad! He puts the house up for sale, but no one buys it and I really felt that pain!! I guess I got pretty caught up in how hard and sad and lonely the Dad's life was, and I didn't like it.
Long story short, the house is never sold, it gradually falls into major disrepair, windows broken, roof falling in, trees growing all around it, and eventually the trees lift the house up off its foundation. The engineer in me wanted to know a lot more about how this affected the plumbing and electrical connections under the house. Was there a basement?
Growing up in NJ, where the population density is high and land is precious, I had NEVER seen an abandoned house. Then I moved up to NY state, and they are everywhere! But I've never seen a house actually lifted up by trees.
March 4, 2026
I like Ted Kooser's poems. I loved the illustrations. But this book was a "So what?" for me.
August 30, 2018
Utterly stunning Jon Klassen illustrations, but the text is a bore. I’m not sure of this book’s intended audience.
January 27, 2019
Me faltan las palabras. Uno de los mejores álbumes ilustrados que he leído nunca.
December 4, 2012
The sentence under the title reads: Not far from here, I have seen a house held up by the hands of tree. This is its story.
While ostensibly about a family, this is the story of a (tree) house on a cleared plot of land. In quiet, contemplative, poetic prose (are we surprised from a poet laureate?) Kooser draws you into these natural surroundings and their subtle persistent lure and power.
“Beneath the trees were bushes so thickly woven together that you had to crawl on your hands and knees to get to the cool and shadowy secret places inside.”
Enchanting phrases like these had me crawling into this wonderland in my imagination sniffing the wildness of the surrounding trees, looking for the seeds in the breeze. Two children live here, with a father somewhat obsessed with the control of his lawn and its tree-less perfection. The children appear to want to embrace the natural surroundings, but are limited but the father’s sterile attitude. The children grow up and leave home for the city, and shortly after, the father follows and puts the house up for sale. The unsold and unwanted wooden house decays and is reclaimed by the wood surrounding it, where the native trees are free to seed and sprout and grow and be. These new saplings surround and embrace the house. They grow with the years and their protective embrace finally lifts the house from its foundations.
Why I like this book:
The language is simple, fluid and yet tight, and for me, quite breathtaking. It is the memoir of a house surrounded by the force, welcome and resilience of nature. Almost a poem to the passing of time and a sense of our continuity with the natural world. From earth to earth. Klassen does an epic job with perspective in these earth-toned subtle illustrations. From closeups of the house, to aerial views, and ground-level shots through the cottonwoods, elms, buckeyes and milkweed. This book has an enduring timeless appeal and, while not the typical short-texed humour we find in so many picture books, I feel it warrants close appraisal.
One of my favorite picture books on 2012
While ostensibly about a family, this is the story of a (tree) house on a cleared plot of land. In quiet, contemplative, poetic prose (are we surprised from a poet laureate?) Kooser draws you into these natural surroundings and their subtle persistent lure and power.
“Beneath the trees were bushes so thickly woven together that you had to crawl on your hands and knees to get to the cool and shadowy secret places inside.”
Enchanting phrases like these had me crawling into this wonderland in my imagination sniffing the wildness of the surrounding trees, looking for the seeds in the breeze. Two children live here, with a father somewhat obsessed with the control of his lawn and its tree-less perfection. The children appear to want to embrace the natural surroundings, but are limited but the father’s sterile attitude. The children grow up and leave home for the city, and shortly after, the father follows and puts the house up for sale. The unsold and unwanted wooden house decays and is reclaimed by the wood surrounding it, where the native trees are free to seed and sprout and grow and be. These new saplings surround and embrace the house. They grow with the years and their protective embrace finally lifts the house from its foundations.
Why I like this book:
The language is simple, fluid and yet tight, and for me, quite breathtaking. It is the memoir of a house surrounded by the force, welcome and resilience of nature. Almost a poem to the passing of time and a sense of our continuity with the natural world. From earth to earth. Klassen does an epic job with perspective in these earth-toned subtle illustrations. From closeups of the house, to aerial views, and ground-level shots through the cottonwoods, elms, buckeyes and milkweed. This book has an enduring timeless appeal and, while not the typical short-texed humour we find in so many picture books, I feel it warrants close appraisal.
One of my favorite picture books on 2012
April 9, 2012
Just as I loved Bag in the Wind by the same author for its themes and lovely language, I have fallen in love with this book as well. There's something about the inevitable passage of time and nature's ability to heal the wounds created by humanity that stays with me even after I've put this book on my shelves. A house stands alone on a lot where all the trees have been cleared. But there are trees on both sides of the lot where the two children who live in the house love to play. Although seedlings from the trees land on the house's lawn, the father is vigilant and gets rid of them quickly. The author never explains why he has this obsession to maintain a pristine, treeless lawn, but he spends a great deal of time doing so. Time passes, the children grow up and move away, and the father decides to sell the house. But no one is interested in buying it, and eventually seeds sprout and grow, surrounding the house and lifting it from its foundation. Although every word in this story is haunting, one of my favorite phrases describes the gentleness of the trees as they support the house "as if it was a bird's next in the fingers of their branches" (unpaginated). Long after the man has given up his battle against the trees, they have forgiven him and keep the forgotten house intact. The gouache illustrations on every page are memorable, in some places showing the greenery that creeps steadily along the house's walls.
December 15, 2012
HOUSE HELD UP BY TREES is a wonderful book. Jon Klassen's artwork is perfect for poetry of Ted Kooser's prose. And I very much liked the story. In fact, I think this would be a fabulous book to use in Middle Grade literature classes where you are trying to drag some conversation out of kids, while trying to explain to them the power of language.
THAT SAID, it's not a book I'd read to younger children. It's not that it's objectionable in any way, but that it's just got a very sad tone.
**SPOILERS BEGIN**
There's a father and two children in this story. They settle in the house on a completely vacant home. And while the father toils on keeping the lawn devoid of trees and flowers, the children play in the woods... alone. Without their father.
**SPOILERS END**
There's a lot more to say about the imagery and content in this book but the value to me, is to make that discover yourself. So I won't say anything more, except that this book is very poetic and wonderful.
BUT IN MY OPINION, it's not a tale that will resonate with most younger children. I shared it with my 10 year-old, and it made him sad.
So absolutely suggest you check it out if you like poetry and a story to think about -- if you are an adult. I'm more hesitant to suggest the book to anyone under 9 years of age.
Averaged 4-Stars between the Adult rating and the rating for Children.
Pam T~
THAT SAID, it's not a book I'd read to younger children. It's not that it's objectionable in any way, but that it's just got a very sad tone.
**SPOILERS BEGIN**
There's a father and two children in this story. They settle in the house on a completely vacant home. And while the father toils on keeping the lawn devoid of trees and flowers, the children play in the woods... alone. Without their father.
**SPOILERS END**
There's a lot more to say about the imagery and content in this book but the value to me, is to make that discover yourself. So I won't say anything more, except that this book is very poetic and wonderful.
BUT IN MY OPINION, it's not a tale that will resonate with most younger children. I shared it with my 10 year-old, and it made him sad.
So absolutely suggest you check it out if you like poetry and a story to think about -- if you are an adult. I'm more hesitant to suggest the book to anyone under 9 years of age.
Averaged 4-Stars between the Adult rating and the rating for Children.
Pam T~
November 19, 2019
What a remarkable story. None of the people had to learn a lesson, and they just got to live their lives. The house stayed there at the center of the story, and the clearing away of trees was eventually subverted by them taking the house. A bit dark!
Re-reading this through themes of rural life: The civilized country life is achieved by clearing away wild trees. Sweeping panoramas in the first part of the book are dominated by grass, and punctuated by an arrangement of icons of civilized life: lawnmower, chairs, house, a driveway, the road. This relationship changes the moment the man moves away. The country house, when left without people, becomes wilderness again. The images change immediately to show the woods encroaching, the house returning to the wilderness. The lifting of the house is punctuated by Klassen's dark illustrations, with the color of the red chair in stark contrast. The woods and the reclaimed house look darkly down on the empty chair in a dominant visual composition. The writers of the dust jacket must have been reading a different book to try to sell this as a book about the uplifting power of nature. It's clearly a book contrasting domestication with wildness.
Re-reading this through themes of rural life: The civilized country life is achieved by clearing away wild trees. Sweeping panoramas in the first part of the book are dominated by grass, and punctuated by an arrangement of icons of civilized life: lawnmower, chairs, house, a driveway, the road. This relationship changes the moment the man moves away. The country house, when left without people, becomes wilderness again. The images change immediately to show the woods encroaching, the house returning to the wilderness. The lifting of the house is punctuated by Klassen's dark illustrations, with the color of the red chair in stark contrast. The woods and the reclaimed house look darkly down on the empty chair in a dominant visual composition. The writers of the dust jacket must have been reading a different book to try to sell this as a book about the uplifting power of nature. It's clearly a book contrasting domestication with wildness.
July 28, 2012
This is a kids book that is told as much by the illustrations as it is by the words. In some ways, even more so.
It's taking something you've seen and creating a story of how it came to be that way. Of how that writer reached into their imagination or experience and thought how it could have happened. And if that is the case, then Ted Kooser had a desolate childhood. Or knew of someone who did.
Thankfully the illustrations make it ok and show the beauty behind the decay.
I must have read this 6 or 7 times. After the first time, I put it down and was a little horrified. Those poor kids - isolated, alone - in an island of void of anything interesting or giving. No flowers. No trees. No bushes. No birdsong. No view. Obviously no mother (she's not mentioned at all). A dysfunctional father that needs everything to be anally perfect. No wonder the kids are never playing there.
And it's no wonder why the house never sells later.
Thankfully, Mother Nature can take it over and make something horrific into something magical.
Thank goodness for the awesome illustrations. That is the reason for the 5 stars.
The story is probably not worth 3.
It's taking something you've seen and creating a story of how it came to be that way. Of how that writer reached into their imagination or experience and thought how it could have happened. And if that is the case, then Ted Kooser had a desolate childhood. Or knew of someone who did.
Thankfully the illustrations make it ok and show the beauty behind the decay.
I must have read this 6 or 7 times. After the first time, I put it down and was a little horrified. Those poor kids - isolated, alone - in an island of void of anything interesting or giving. No flowers. No trees. No bushes. No birdsong. No view. Obviously no mother (she's not mentioned at all). A dysfunctional father that needs everything to be anally perfect. No wonder the kids are never playing there.
And it's no wonder why the house never sells later.
Thankfully, Mother Nature can take it over and make something horrific into something magical.
Thank goodness for the awesome illustrations. That is the reason for the 5 stars.
The story is probably not worth 3.
March 29, 2013
This is a sentimental story, tender but not really heartwarming. The main character is the house. We never learn much about the house or the family that lives there other than the children grew up, and the father persistently cares for the yard and keeps trees from growing. Yet, I felt sadness when the house was abandoned; there is a lot that can be read between the lines of this story. I would expect as much from a good poet like Kooser. Jon Klassen's illustrations also add to the between-the-lines story. They felt right and introduced some warmth as the trees move back into the yard eventually surround the house.
I did not care as much for Klassen's art work in his books This is Not My Hat, and I Want My Hat Back, though it is similar to the illustrations here. Now I realize it was the tone set by those stories that influenced my feelings about the artwork—I didn't like either of them. Here the story is not offensive and the illustrations are a fine compliment.
I did not care as much for Klassen's art work in his books This is Not My Hat, and I Want My Hat Back, though it is similar to the illustrations here. Now I realize it was the tone set by those stories that influenced my feelings about the artwork—I didn't like either of them. Here the story is not offensive and the illustrations are a fine compliment.
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