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A House Is a House for Me
Where does everyone and everything live? A House Is a House for Me is a rollicking rhyme about houses. Some of the houses are familiar, such as an anthill and a dog kennel, while others are surprising, such as a corn husk and a pea pod. This longtime favorite is filled with pictures that parents and children will want to look at again and again in a beautifully produced, deluxe full-sized edition.
48 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
23 people are currently reading
891 people want to read
About the author
Mary Ann Hoberman
78 books96 followersMary Ann Hoberman was an American author of over 30 children's books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 210 reviews
June 17, 2020
A wonderful book with so much to look at. I felt I couldn't fully appreciate this read on open library. The illustrations are so intricate that looking at them on a screen isn't the best way to view them. I love the way the title page words were made up of illustrations.
This book shows every type of home you can think of and some you hadn't thought of as homes! This is such and interesting book packed full of detailed illustrations. A great book to look through, if I had small children I would definitely try to buy a copy.
Read on open library.
This book shows every type of home you can think of and some you hadn't thought of as homes! This is such and interesting book packed full of detailed illustrations. A great book to look through, if I had small children I would definitely try to buy a copy.
Read on open library.
December 3, 2016
This is a very good book for KG children.
It is creative and it helps children’s imagination.
The illustrations are awesome.
The book displays houses of different animals, insects, humans, living creatures in general:
“A hill is a house for an ant.
A hive is a house for a bee.”
And also more sequential conclusions:
“A kennel’s a house for a dog.
A dog is a house for a flea….
And then it may move in on me!”
But it does not stop there. It also gives you an idea about more abstract conceptions:
“A box is a house for a teabag.
A teapot’s a house for some tea.
If you pour me a cup and I drink it all up,
Then the teahouse will turn into me!”
The bottom line is a global message:
“And the earth is a house for us all”
The book can easily create questions that will make a game between a parent and his/her child.
For example: “So, what is the house of ….?”
Everything eventually will be a house of something.
It is creative and it helps children’s imagination.
The illustrations are awesome.
The book displays houses of different animals, insects, humans, living creatures in general:
“A hill is a house for an ant.
A hive is a house for a bee.”
And also more sequential conclusions:
“A kennel’s a house for a dog.
A dog is a house for a flea….
And then it may move in on me!”
But it does not stop there. It also gives you an idea about more abstract conceptions:
“A box is a house for a teabag.
A teapot’s a house for some tea.
If you pour me a cup and I drink it all up,
Then the teahouse will turn into me!”
The bottom line is a global message:
“And the earth is a house for us all”
The book can easily create questions that will make a game between a parent and his/her child.
For example: “So, what is the house of ….?”
Everything eventually will be a house of something.
April 18, 2010
Fantastic!!! This is a wonderfully imaginative, playful, and delightful book.
The illustrations are truly amazing. A reader/listener could carefully view the book multiple times and continually notice more and more in each intricate picture.
The story rhyme is wonderful. My favorite is probably “A book is a house for a story.” I also loved all the various playhouses for children that show up in the illustrations.
I am very tempted to buy this for myself (to share too, not just to reread) but I think I will resist. However, this would make a lovely gift book for baby gifts through gifts to kids up to age 7 or thereabouts.
A perfect read aloud book, especially if participation by the listener(s) is encouraged. It’s so much fun to think up and notice other houses and those housed.
The illustrations are truly amazing. A reader/listener could carefully view the book multiple times and continually notice more and more in each intricate picture.
The story rhyme is wonderful. My favorite is probably “A book is a house for a story.” I also loved all the various playhouses for children that show up in the illustrations.
I am very tempted to buy this for myself (to share too, not just to reread) but I think I will resist. However, this would make a lovely gift book for baby gifts through gifts to kids up to age 7 or thereabouts.
A perfect read aloud book, especially if participation by the listener(s) is encouraged. It’s so much fun to think up and notice other houses and those housed.
April 17, 2010
I love everything about this book! It is informative and imaginative and fun-fun-fun. The illustrations are enchanting. This is one that I adored as a little girl--it's so neat to see all the different types of houses for people and creatures and even things! I'm so grateful to Chandra for reminding me about this gem!!!
October 14, 2019
Everything under the sun is either a house, or something that lives in a house, in this delightful rhyming story, originally published in 1978: "Cartons are houses for crackers. / Castles are houses for kings. / The more that I think about houses, / The more things are houses for kings," declares the narrator at one point. Hoberman's rhythmic text - which makes for the best sort of read-aloud selection - is accompanied by Betty Fraser's vintage artwork, with its attention to detail and many clever little allusions.
One of those titles I would probably never have thought to pick up, were it not for the recommendation of a friend - thanks, Chandra! - A House Is a House for Me is the best sort of "concept book." It introduces children to the idea of relationships - between different objects, between creatures and objects, and creatures and creatures - and how they "fit" together, in the big picture, but it does so in an entertaining and thought-provoking way. It "educates," in the sense that it prompts one to think about things in new ways. The artwork is just as successful, sneaking in many clever tributes to classic children's books - I liked the scene in which the boy is reading Munro Leaf's The Story of Ferdinand , or the one in which the girl finds herself having tea with the Mad Hatter, and the other characters from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - and successfully retaining the reader's attention.
All in all, a charming picture-book, one I would recommend to young readers who appreciate a rollicking rhyme, or detailed illustrations!
One of those titles I would probably never have thought to pick up, were it not for the recommendation of a friend - thanks, Chandra! - A House Is a House for Me is the best sort of "concept book." It introduces children to the idea of relationships - between different objects, between creatures and objects, and creatures and creatures - and how they "fit" together, in the big picture, but it does so in an entertaining and thought-provoking way. It "educates," in the sense that it prompts one to think about things in new ways. The artwork is just as successful, sneaking in many clever tributes to classic children's books - I liked the scene in which the boy is reading Munro Leaf's The Story of Ferdinand , or the one in which the girl finds herself having tea with the Mad Hatter, and the other characters from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - and successfully retaining the reader's attention.
All in all, a charming picture-book, one I would recommend to young readers who appreciate a rollicking rhyme, or detailed illustrations!
February 15, 2012
33 months - Today O said in the car "Some people call a house a home". I always know which books have had the greatest impact on O because they are the ones she thinks about when she's playing or traveling in the car, retells or quotes a few days, weeks or months later. Great vocabulary builder.
This book also reminds me of giving workshops on housing art and documents. The art goes in a mat that goes in a box that goes on a shelf in a room within a building.... each one is a house for the other and adds another layer of protection from the elements. I thought only I thought this way.
This book also reminds me of giving workshops on housing art and documents. The art goes in a mat that goes in a box that goes on a shelf in a room within a building.... each one is a house for the other and adds another layer of protection from the elements. I thought only I thought this way.
April 11, 2012
Excellent rhyme that thinks outside the box about houses.
July 10, 2025
This book slaps
December 26, 2019
Although I did think this book was a bit lengthy and weirdly structured in terms of having some rhyming pages and then none, I did love the illustration and the characters within the book. This would be a fabulous book to read when exploring habitation or even living things in the world around us.
January 1, 2018
O.M.G. I love this book! Unfortunately, I like it more than my daughter and my husband. I'm hoping that they will grow to love it as my 2.5 year old gets older.
The illustrations are very intricate. My daughter had so much fun looking at the pictures and pointing out every little detail. She was so involved in the pictures that she didn't let me read more than 3 pages (and kept going back to previous pages so it was impossible to move forward).
There is a great rhythm and rhyme to the story. I felt like I was practically singing it to my daughter.
There was sooooo much information in the book. It will full of vocabulary and creative phrasing. I WILL MAKE MY DAUGHTER LIKE THIS BOOK, MWAHAHAHAHA. =D
The illustrations are very intricate. My daughter had so much fun looking at the pictures and pointing out every little detail. She was so involved in the pictures that she didn't let me read more than 3 pages (and kept going back to previous pages so it was impossible to move forward).
There is a great rhythm and rhyme to the story. I felt like I was practically singing it to my daughter.
There was sooooo much information in the book. It will full of vocabulary and creative phrasing. I WILL MAKE MY DAUGHTER LIKE THIS BOOK, MWAHAHAHAHA. =D
April 14, 2022
Really classic illustration style. This book reminds me of when rhyming picture books were the epitomy of picture books (now there are so many different types of picture books). These picture books really do work with a consistent rhythm and scheme. A little long by today's standards but I enjoyed it.
April 2, 2020
Houses come in many shapes and sizes. But not just people houses. The cookie jar is a house for the cookies. Pockets are houses for pennies. Fun and clever with beautiful illustrations. I will definitely revisit this one again.
October 24, 2021
A House is a House for Me is written by Mary Ann Hoberman and illustrated by Betty Fraser. The style of this children’s book is lighthearted and playful. The story is extremely educational as it uses rhyming words and teaches children the “houses”, or places where different things belong. I loved how in the end the author made sure to include that Earth is everyone’s home. The last page ties the entire book together and makes the reader feel like they belong. This is a great story for young readers. Even if the children can’t read, they can look at the detailed pictures and most likely figure out what the author is trying to say. This book can be identified as a modern picture book because the text and pictures are traditional. An interactive read aloud could be done with this book and students could even help you finish the sentences simply by looking at the pictures. I would recommend everyone grab a copy of A House is a House for Me for the poetry section of their library!
April 26, 2022
Whimsical verse describes the many things that reside in other things. A delightful discovery book for the young!
Ages: 2 - 4
Ages: 2 - 4
July 24, 2025
An absolute stunner of a vintage children's book, Tot and I both adored it. Free libraries are the best.
April 28, 2023
Imaginative and thought provoking! I don’t look at the world the same after reading it.
March 12, 2012
A House Is a House for Me, written by Mary Ann Hoberman and illustrated by Betty Fraser, is a book of poetry for children in the Primary years (five- eight years old). It was awarded the National Book Award. It is a story about different animals and objects and where they live. The story lists all of these things in rhyme, so the children will have fun listening to the story and the reader will enjoy reading the story to children. The rhyming and the extensive vocabulary used in the book will extend the children's knowledge. It could be a fairly lengthy story for the really young children, so you may want to break the story up into two parts so that the children wouldn’t get bored listening.
I enjoyed this story and I think children will too because of the various animals and objects that are included in this story. I think they will have fun pointing out all of the different animals that they recognize and naming where they live. There are not any specific characters or plot in the story, but I still really enjoyed it and think the children would too. The illustrations fill the pages, illustrating the animals and their homes. Children will be able to point out where they live as the story is being read. As an outside activity, a teacher could have the children add a page to the story by drawing where they live.
I enjoyed this story and I think children will too because of the various animals and objects that are included in this story. I think they will have fun pointing out all of the different animals that they recognize and naming where they live. There are not any specific characters or plot in the story, but I still really enjoyed it and think the children would too. The illustrations fill the pages, illustrating the animals and their homes. Children will be able to point out where they live as the story is being read. As an outside activity, a teacher could have the children add a page to the story by drawing where they live.
November 15, 2011
This bouncy rhyme makes a great readaloud. At first glance, you think it's a book about different homes for different types of animals, and, indeed, the poem starts out that way. However, toward the end it becomes more of a description of different types of containers, some more abstract ("my head is a house for a secret...") than others. The text is accompanied by Betty Fraser's charming, highly detailed drawings that lend an old-fashioned feeling to the poem. Hoberman here has taken a concrete concept--the house--and lead the reader to extend that concept to containers in general--very clever! Little wonder that it was a 1983 National Book Award winner. Highly recommended.
February 7, 2009
A lot of people in the children's book biz advise against writing rhyming picture books, not because they're against them per se, but because when they're bad they seem extra bad. And there's so much to get wrong - not just avoiding overused rhyming words (can we get a ban on "nose" and "toes"?) but also perfecting the cadence and rhythm and strong beats, etc. A House is a House for Me shows what happens when everything goes right, though. It's simply delightful.
July 21, 2007
This was my mother's favorite book to read to me when I was young. I recently contacted the author and asked her if I sent her the copies of the book with a self addressed stamped envelope would she sign one and return it for my mother. She DID! It was the perfect gift. Very cool.
July 26, 2022
I love the illustrations- some of these would be awesome as framed prints! The rhymes are decent, and I think it would make for a fun read-aloud.
November 20, 2018
A House is a House for Me written by Mary Ann Hoberman is a lovely book about all of the different things and their homes. This book is a very repetitive book so when I first started reading it I was not a fan. But by the end I had a huge appreciation for what I just read because it made you realize that everything is a home to something and it illuminated about how humans and nature are all tied together in a somewhat magical way. The repetitiveness of this book gave the ending more of a dramatic impact on the reader. Moreover, the illustrations in this book are made up of light earth tones and delicate drawings of what the text is describing. The illustrations expand upon the text immensely and tell a story that is simply lovely to follow. This is a book that I would love to have in my future classroom because it shows the reader how this the planet and nature is our home and how everything is connected.
July 24, 2023
I saw that the author had passed away recently and wanted to read some of her work. This is a sweet rhyming story about how objects house other objects - for example, "a hangar's a house for a plane" and "my coat is a house for my body," among many other creative ideas. She winds up with the following verse:
"A flower's at home in a garden.
A donkey's at home in a stall.
Each creature that's known has a house of its own
And the earth is a house for us all."
The illustrations are fanciful and very detailed and intricate. I especially liked the page that read, "A book is a house for a story," which showed a small boy riveted to The Story of Ferdinand, and "A teapot's a house for some tea," which depicted Alice's tea party with the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse. Beautiful work done by Betty Fraser, originally published in 1978; the paperback version won the National Book Award for Children's Books in 1983.
"A flower's at home in a garden.
A donkey's at home in a stall.
Each creature that's known has a house of its own
And the earth is a house for us all."
The illustrations are fanciful and very detailed and intricate. I especially liked the page that read, "A book is a house for a story," which showed a small boy riveted to The Story of Ferdinand, and "A teapot's a house for some tea," which depicted Alice's tea party with the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse. Beautiful work done by Betty Fraser, originally published in 1978; the paperback version won the National Book Award for Children's Books in 1983.
October 11, 2020
A House is a House for me is a modern picture book that explains some of the things that have houses. This book had a lot of rhyming like a poem but it was not a poem. Some of the things that are being explained in the book are things that are real and have a real connection to the real world such as “A glove is a house for a hand, a hand.” If the genre of this book wasn’t fiction, I would have thought that it would be realistic fiction. The style of this book was all over the place and was talking about a lot of things that have houses. I really like the resolution because it ended by saying “And the earth is a house for us all.” The illustrator did a very good job at illustrating what was going on with the text. I really liked this book and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in reading it.
December 29, 2022
What a wonderfully playful book! A House Is a House for Me (1978) by Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrated by Betty Fraser. This book is a perfect book for kindergarteners. It is a mixture of poetry and rhyming and teaches children about the different kinds of homes. But the thing that sets it over the top is the illustrations. It's like sugar for your mind and eyes. Interestingly it was done in the 1970s, but the words and feel of the pictures remind me of The Real Mother Goose from way back when illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright. Still, visually stimulating, and a wonderfully poetic way to spend reading. Very Lewis Carroll (there's even a full page from the Alice in Wonderland novel). My rating - 5/5
October 24, 2021
This book is so beautiful written and illustrated! The title page is crafted so creative with the collages of different things to create the title of the book. The rhyming sequence in the book is wonderfully wrote. It is a formal written book with the words separated from the pictures nice and neatly throughout each spread. Which helps emerging readers to read. This would defiantly be a book I would use in a classroom read aloud. I think kids would giggle at some of the verses. I also think it was a very informational book, teaching you where animals and things live at. Some things I didn’t even know myself! Great book overall!
May 1, 2023
I bought this book at a library book sale some years ago, and I only just got around to reading it today. Wow! Betty Fraser’s illustrations are absolutely amazing. There’s so much detail in every page I feel like I could spend hours just looking at each one. It kind of has the vibe of an “I Spy” book, with lots of small details and little stories hidden in each page. I would definitely like to read more books illustrated by her.
Mary Ann Hoberman‘s rhymes are also entertaining and fun to read aloud. (I guess she’s pretty famous(?), though I’ve never been good at keeping track of names or famous people.) Looking forward to reading more by her as well!
Mary Ann Hoberman‘s rhymes are also entertaining and fun to read aloud. (I guess she’s pretty famous(?), though I’ve never been good at keeping track of names or famous people.) Looking forward to reading more by her as well!
March 5, 2024
This book is a super captivating and creative book that relies on fun rhymes to round out the story as a whole. The thing that makes this book stand out from the rest is the amazing art that goes along with each of the fun rhymes. This books is about looking at different animals houses and using rhymes based off of that, so the amazing art that goes off of those makes you as the reader want to stick around purely to take in all of the art. I think that this book is great for a read aloud and to have in a classroom library so students can explore the imaginative art and see all the hidden details in them.
December 1, 2020
This book is a poetic journey. It's not hard to picture how "hutches are houses for rabbits" and "a terminal is a house for a train.," but have you ever imagined...
"A box is a house for a teabag.
A teapot's a house for some tea.
If you pour me a cup and I drink it all up,
Then the teahouse will turn into me."
I just love this book, the cadence of it is pure joy, and the illustrations are amazing. I would happily use this in a poetry unit to spark imagination. It could be wonderfully used in any elementary classroom.
"A box is a house for a teabag.
A teapot's a house for some tea.
If you pour me a cup and I drink it all up,
Then the teahouse will turn into me."
I just love this book, the cadence of it is pure joy, and the illustrations are amazing. I would happily use this in a poetry unit to spark imagination. It could be wonderfully used in any elementary classroom.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 210 reviews