The House of Grass and Sky

A luminous picture-book tribute to house and home gently evokes the passage of time, the solace of memory, and the joys of preservation and renewal.

Every house has a story. This house—an old one hunkered in the deep grass below a wide country sky—is a waiting house. Once it was full of laughter and song. The sounds of life rang within its walls. Now it stands quiet and still. The house has sheltered many families over the years and remembers them fondly, especially the children. New families arrive to look, but none stay. Perhaps the house, too, now belongs to the Long Ago and Used to Be? Or will the “right” family move in to honor its past and build new memories? Wistful and nostalgic, Mary Lyn Ray’s poetic text, combined with glowing, pastoral illustrations by E. B. Goodale that capture the lonely house’s unique character, create a quietly affecting hymn to hope and surprise that will enchant readers of all ages.

Mary Lyn Ray is the author of many acclaimed books for children, including Go to Sleep, Little Farm, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal; New York Times bestseller Stars, illustrated by Marla Frazee; and The Thank You Book, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin. She lives in South Danbury, New Hampshire, in a home much like the one in the book, with minimal modern technology.

E. B. Goodale is an author, illustrator, and designer whose debut picture book, Windows by Julia Denos, received an Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Honor. She is also the illustrator of The Most Unusual Day by Sydra Mallery. E. B. Goodale lives in Massachusetts with her family.