Illustrator: Lyn Meredith

Publisher: Roundtree Press

ISBN-10: 1949480097

ISBN-13: 978-1949480092

Books are powerful tools. They entertain, validate, teach, and advise. They reveal circumstances that show the reader they are not alone. It’s comforting to see that others have walked similar paths, or experienced similar events or felt similar emotions. That's certainly the case in this inspiring children's book, Home: A Story of Resilience and Healing.

When a young boy’s family moves to a new house after a fire consumed their old one, he longs for his old house. He misses dinner around the old table in the old dining room, playing in his old yard, and sleeping in his old bedroom. But once he and his family begin to share their honest feelings the healing begins, and he soon realizes that home is so much more than where someone lives.

I love the gentle way this story is revealed. It doesn’t get into the devastation of the fire. Instead, it focuses on the boy’s sad and displaced emotions, then eventually on his healing. The lovely illustrations are exceptional, revealing both the destruction and restoration, and add so much to this meaningful book. 

Home provides a creative and helpful story to help children heal from trauma and loss. It lets those who’ve gone through similar losses to know they are not alone.

*Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards recently recognized Home with a gold medal in the category of Best First Book: Picture Book.

About the Author

Carrie Barnes lives with her family in Santa Rosa, California. She and her family lost their home in the devastating 2017 Tubbs Fire. This is her first children’s book, written to help her son process his grief and trauma over losing his beloved childhood home. They have since rebuilt and are moving into their brand-new home soon.

Lyn Meredith is a children’s book illustrator. She lives in California.

*Dɪsᴄʟᴏsᴜʀᴇ: I ʀᴇᴄᴇɪᴠᴇᴅ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟɪᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʀʏ ᴄᴏᴘʏ ᴏғ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ. Mʏ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ ᴡᴀs ɴᴏᴛ ɪɴғʟᴜᴇɴᴄᴇᴅ.