PICTURE BOOKS
Patitucci, Dawn

Domino's Tree House

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Francisco Fonseca. Domino, playing outdoors on a beautiful day, has a feeling of "not enough." His discontent leads him to build a tree house, where he lounges and snacks until discontent finds him again. So he builds a tree cottage, then a tree mansion on top of his tree house. Then a tree castle, then skyscraper. Nothing is quite satisfactory, so he builds structure upon structure until he reaches the moon. Fonseca's illustrations, with delicate lines and crosshatching, have a lovely handcrafted feel. The colors move from earthy greens and browns to brighter yellows and blues as Domino's structures become more whimsical and far-fetched. Double-page spreads angled from a vantage point above the action provide sweeping panoramas that show the heights Domino's unchecked ambition has reached, as well as his increasing isolation as his home, his town, and eventually Earth itself recedes and he reaches the moon, cold and dark. Realizing that "there was nothing on the moon but moon," he parachutes back to Earth, where he finds the contentment he was looking for in the cool grass and gentle breezes of his own backyard. Playful and thought-provoking in equal measure.

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