Safe, Secure, Shelter -- For authors and illustrators, a breakdown of the successful story elements in a picture book review

Proving that home isn't a physical dwelling but a feeling, Lita Judge in OLE BLUE IS MY HOME, shares her nomadic childhood.

Judge uses comforting, watercolor landscapes to emphasize the purposes of physical shelters and complementary prose to convey that companionship, love, and care are much more important to providing a sense of home.

Characters: The success of the story is leaving the human and pet characters intentionally unnamed because, like a name, an address is a form of identity.

Themes: unconventional lifestyles, camping, travel, physical needs vs wants

Conflict: being lost and alone, not feeling like you belong, feeling like an outsider

Plot: The girl introduces us to her family and describes how her family lives. She then goes to school where she feels like an outsider because she doesn't have a conventional home to have friends over to play.

Her mother, within the shelter of OLD BLUE, shows her that a home is where you feel safe, loved, and secure.

Perspective: First person plural

Setting: Camping, town, and school settings that are rendered in a realistic style and have a comfortable feel.

A cozy night unfolds as a family gathers around a vintage blue van under a starlit sky, with children reading, pets lounging, and chores being done, capturing the essence of home on the road in "Old Blue Is My Home" by Lita Judge.

ISBN-13	978-1419771521
Publisher	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication Date	April 2025
Page	40
Age	4 to 8

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