Julia's House of Lost Creatures

Justification

Julia’s House for Lost Creatures is an engaging book about a young girl who opens her home to strange and unwanted creatures. This book is considered fantasy and was positively reviewed by Booklist, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Kirkus Reviews, Library Media Connection, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal and Teacher Librarian.

Evaluation

The illustrations in Julia’s House for Lost Creatures are truly magnificent. The illustrations match the lightheartedness of the story. Library Media Connection stated.”The whimsical watercolor illustrations infuse the pages with imagination and wonder.” The illustrations are full of color and levity. They add the depth to the story that the words do not.

The characters, or more specifically, the creatures are what truly make this book worthwhile. Some characters include a cat covered in socks, a “very sad” troll, a toast-making dragon, a mermaid and a ghost. The characters are all so very different and interesting. The reader could study the creatures for hours. Then there is Julia who lives in a house built on the back of a turtle. Julia is caring and opens up her own home to all the lost creatures. Julia loves all the crazy creatures but she also craves order. This is evident as she assigns all the creatures chores.

The theme of this story also catches my attention. One theme a reader can connect with is accepting others even when they look or act differently. This theme can be applied to the creatures in the story as well as with people in our daily lives. There needs to be more people like Julia who are accepting of all people, no matter what they look like or how they act.

Conclusion

Julia’s House of Lost Creatures is recommended for elementary schools and public libraries alike. This whimsical and entertaining story is great for a short read or for struggling readers. This book would also be a good start for a lesson about acceptance, or an introduction to fantasy characters.

Citation

Hatke, B. (2014). Julia's house of lost creatures. First Second.