YOU ARE HOME

Three children confronting uncertainty find friendship—and belonging.

One child’s house succumbs to a fire, another lives out of an RV, and a third moves out of an apartment. All three meet at school, where their friendship grows tentatively at first as they bond over books and artwork. Ensuing scenes depict the trio nestled in a tree fort and playing on the shoreline as they find home with each other. Told in the second person, the contemplative text relies on description and metaphor as Tobin Fine ponders the meanings of home and friendship. Ultimately, the author defines home as something that transcends the physical: “Home is…a memory. / Home is a…dream. / Home is right here, right now.” Landazábal takes care with the depictions of the three protagonists; each is rendered with specificity. One is brown-skinned with short puffy black hair. Another is pale-skinned with long red hair and sports a neon pink beanie, while the third presents East Asian, with short choppy black hair. The watercolor and gouache illustrations include some stunning images, including a scene of the RV in the desert by night; the sky is a blend of blues and greens with a touch of pink, and a long glow of light emanates from the vehicle. From landscapes to cityscapes and apartments to schools, each page offers readers plenty to linger over.

Eye-catching and meditative.