Homes Past and Present by Kerry Dinmont
Published by Lerner Publications (Tm) on August 1st 2018
ISBN: 1541503341
Pages: 24
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads

I’m not sure who this book is for. The text is so narrow and simple that it seems like it must be for toddlers or young children but I don’t think the photographs would engage this group at all. There isn’t enough information to make it useful for, say, learning about the differences between past and present housing and what information it does contain is just kind of strange. For example, there is a page that says “Long ago, many people used logs to build a house. Others wrapped animal skins around a wooden frame.” This is paired with a photo of a log cabin but no picture of an animal skin-wrapped wooden frame which could lead to kids to imagine some bizarre and historically very inaccurate homes. I do like non-fiction books that engage young readers with questions so it gets an extra star for including some.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath