Houses with a Story: A Dragon’s Den, a Ghostly Mansion, a Library of Lost Books, and 30 More Amazing Places to ­Explore

Gr 8 Up–In this fantastical art book about remarkably diverse houses and their residents, 30 amazing, surreal, and imagined homes are constructed through colorful, hand-drawn sketches accompanied by notes that bring the houses to life. The buildings are influenced by a mixture of Eastern and Western architecture styles, and readers tour each one, from both outside and within. From a Kaidan-Do bookstore to a methodical witch’s house, a forgotten orphan’s castle to a dreamer’s tree house, an apple cider mill to a melancholy lighthouse, every home is accompanied by a written history, inhabitants, and lore. The sidebars show Yoshida’s intensive research on building materials, roofs, and plumbing. The interior floor plans, furniture, room layouts, diagrams, and personal items illustrate details in the lives of residents. The epilogue, “Concepts and Commentary Line Drawings,” reveals and documents Yoshida’s own work studio, providing readers a glimpse into the process behind the artwork.