THE ABC BOOK OF AMERICAN HOMES

Broad spaces, small figures, precise architectural details and clean, straight lines gives Brannen’s art in this alphabetical gallery of housing an elegant simplicity that Shoulders’s matter-of-fact commentary struggles to emulate: “A is for apartment. All homes in an apartment building share the same roof. Families who live in apartments might have neighbors living beside them, below them and above them….” From Beach House and Cajun Cottage to Mobile Homes and Pueblos, from a Junk House built from recycled materials to the stately White House, the author draws them all together with the closing observation that, whatever a home’s nature, “what makes it special are the people you share it with.” The device works well for the most part, encompassing Kilbourne (a Sears, Roebuck kit), Quonset Hut and Xinfang (Chinese for “brand new home”), although Unique Home is a decidedly limp entry. Despite the uneven text, consider this as a low-key alternative to the likes of Ann Morris’s Houses and Homes (1992) or, going further back, Mary Ann Hoberman’s A House Is a House for Me (1978). (Informational picture book. 6-8)