Your House Is Not Just a House

Words by IDRIS GOODWIN • Art by LORRAINE NAM

Words by Idris Goodwin • Art by Lorraine Nam

CLARION BOOKS

An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

Clarion Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Your House Is Not Just a House Text copyright © 2024 by Idris Goodwin Illustrations copyright © 2024 by Lorraine Nam All rights reserved. Manufactured in Italy. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007. www.harpercollinschildrens.com Library of Congress Control Number: 2023943326 ISBN 978-0-35-868344-5 The art was created with cut paper and paint and assembled and edited digitally.

Typography by Celeste Knudsen 24 25 26 27 28 RTLO 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Edition

For the children —I.G. For Jon —L.N.

It seems your home is just walls, windows, and doors . . .

but take a closer look— it’s that and so much more.

That closet is not a closet— it’s a teleportation chamber

that will take you to a planet with robots screaming, Danger!

That couch is not a couch— it’s the top rope of a ring

and you’re a masked wrestling champion— the Unbearable Terrible Scream!

And every time you climb in bed to drift away and dream, underneath you’ll likely hear little trolls are plotting things.

Put your ear to the ground, you can listen to them sing.

And since we’re talking music, here’s another thing . . .

Those cardboard rolls from paper towels you use to clean your home?

Don’t recycle yet— they’re really microphones.

And you’re a pop star–rock star with a hip-hop fever, Chance the Rapper meets Beyoncé with the moves of a Selena.

Your shower’s not just a shower for the purposes of cleanin’.

It’s also a wild jungle in the middle of rainy season.

That toolbox is your laboratory where you use your brainy reason to build machines that run on steam, contraptions with chain reactions,

mouse traps, bat hats, mechanical wings for flappin’.

Yes, the place you call your home is full of wonder and action.

Those chairs and that blanket will become a fort to hide from angry warthogs.

Shhhhh, listen to them snort.

That empty plot is not empty— it’s a basketball court

where you invent new sports like “monkey ball” in funky shorts.

Sidewalk-chalk a mural of an epic battle of the past . . .

Vikings vs. Martians or Flounders vs. Bass

Sharks vs. Submarines Cowboys vs. Physicians

Jets That Break the Sound Barrier vs. Powerful Steam Engines!

And did you know those people you live with who seem to have the answers?

They’re not just caretakers, they’re also soulful dancers, rhymers and painters, comedians and actors, writers of books with multiple chapters!

Which means . . .

you were born creative.

Imagination is your mission.

Wherever you call home . . . is a canvas for your visions.

US $19.99 / $24.99 CAN ISBN 978-0-358-68344-5

9

780358 683445

51999