Home

Illustrated by Loren Long
Hardcover
$19.99 US
9-1/2"W x 11"H
On sale Mar 11, 2025 | 48 Pages | 9780593110898
Preschool - 3
Reading Level: Lexile AD910L | Fountas & Pinnell O
From Newbery Medal-winning author Matt de la Peña and bestselling illustrator Loren Long, the powerhouse duo behind the #1 New York Times bestseller Love, comes a moving meditation on the places we feel most comfortable, loved, and protected—wherever that might be.

Home is a tired lullaby
and a late-night traffic that mumbles in
through a crack in your curtains.

Home is the faint trumpet of a distant barge
as your grandfather casts his line
from the edge of his houseboat.

With lyrical text and expressive artwork, Matt de la Peña and Loren Long celebrate the beauty and love found in every home, no matter its size. They show how a home is more than just a place . . . People can be a kind of home—a family and a community that cares for one another. And the natural world is another kind of home, a refuge we share with every living thing on Earth.

This deeply moving ode to the universal pull of home, whatever its form, is destined to become a new classic that will be cherished by readers of every age.
© Heather Waraksa
Matt de la Peña is the Newbery Medal–winning author of Last Stop on Market Street. He is also the author of the award-winning picture books Carmela Full of Wishes, Love, and A Nation’s Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis, and seven critically acclaimed young adult novels. Matt teaches creative writing and visits schools and colleges throughout the country. You can visit Matt at mattdelapena.com, or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @mattdelapena. View titles by Matt de la Peña
© Pete Comparoni
Loren Long grew up in Lexington, Kentucky. He pursued graduate-level studies at the American Academy of Art in Chicago after graduating with a BA in Graphic Design/Art Studio from the University of Kentucky. After graduation, Long worked as an illustrator for a greeting card company in Cincinnati before beginning his career as a freelance illustrator.  Since then, Long has received numerous accolades for his fluid WPA painting style. He has been awarded two gold medals from the Society of Illustrators in New York, and has been frequently selected for their annual exhibition and book. His work has also appeared in many other major annual exhibitions held by such prestigious journals and magazines as American Illustration, Communication Arts, Step-By-Step Graphics and Print. Long’s clients include Time, Reader’s Digest, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Boy’s Life, Land’s End, Sports Illustrated, and HBO. He has also illustrated book covers for numerous publishers and has recently concentrated on illustrating books for young readers, where his work has garnered much recognition and praise. View titles by Loren Long
Praise for Home:

* "Beckons readers from the first page, capably pulling them from scenes of ordinary comforts to musings on sorrow and back . . . [H]ome becomes a quiet father’s gentle guidance, a hardworking grandma rolling tortillas, and a welcome from a kind teacher. These moments of simple yet exceptional connections among people, and between cities and nature, build to a crescendo that harkens back to the “thump, thump, thump” of the human heart—a potent reminder of life’s promises. Similarly, Long’s acrylic art transforms portraits of ordinary days and nights into formidable reveries, featuring folks varied in skin color and cultural background. Of course, the penultimate double-page spread framed around a child’s pensive face—Earth reflected in the character’s eyes—is the most astounding . . . Simply divine." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "A moving story about cultivating home in different places—one that leans into themes of healing, resilience, and finding center." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
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About

From Newbery Medal-winning author Matt de la Peña and bestselling illustrator Loren Long, the powerhouse duo behind the #1 New York Times bestseller Love, comes a moving meditation on the places we feel most comfortable, loved, and protected—wherever that might be.

Home is a tired lullaby
and a late-night traffic that mumbles in
through a crack in your curtains.

Home is the faint trumpet of a distant barge
as your grandfather casts his line
from the edge of his houseboat.

With lyrical text and expressive artwork, Matt de la Peña and Loren Long celebrate the beauty and love found in every home, no matter its size. They show how a home is more than just a place . . . People can be a kind of home—a family and a community that cares for one another. And the natural world is another kind of home, a refuge we share with every living thing on Earth.

This deeply moving ode to the universal pull of home, whatever its form, is destined to become a new classic that will be cherished by readers of every age.

Author

© Heather Waraksa
Matt de la Peña is the Newbery Medal–winning author of Last Stop on Market Street. He is also the author of the award-winning picture books Carmela Full of Wishes, Love, and A Nation’s Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis, and seven critically acclaimed young adult novels. Matt teaches creative writing and visits schools and colleges throughout the country. You can visit Matt at mattdelapena.com, or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @mattdelapena. View titles by Matt de la Peña
© Pete Comparoni
Loren Long grew up in Lexington, Kentucky. He pursued graduate-level studies at the American Academy of Art in Chicago after graduating with a BA in Graphic Design/Art Studio from the University of Kentucky. After graduation, Long worked as an illustrator for a greeting card company in Cincinnati before beginning his career as a freelance illustrator.  Since then, Long has received numerous accolades for his fluid WPA painting style. He has been awarded two gold medals from the Society of Illustrators in New York, and has been frequently selected for their annual exhibition and book. His work has also appeared in many other major annual exhibitions held by such prestigious journals and magazines as American Illustration, Communication Arts, Step-By-Step Graphics and Print. Long’s clients include Time, Reader’s Digest, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Boy’s Life, Land’s End, Sports Illustrated, and HBO. He has also illustrated book covers for numerous publishers and has recently concentrated on illustrating books for young readers, where his work has garnered much recognition and praise. View titles by Loren Long

Praise

Praise for Home:

* "Beckons readers from the first page, capably pulling them from scenes of ordinary comforts to musings on sorrow and back . . . [H]ome becomes a quiet father’s gentle guidance, a hardworking grandma rolling tortillas, and a welcome from a kind teacher. These moments of simple yet exceptional connections among people, and between cities and nature, build to a crescendo that harkens back to the “thump, thump, thump” of the human heart—a potent reminder of life’s promises. Similarly, Long’s acrylic art transforms portraits of ordinary days and nights into formidable reveries, featuring folks varied in skin color and cultural background. Of course, the penultimate double-page spread framed around a child’s pensive face—Earth reflected in the character’s eyes—is the most astounding . . . Simply divine." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "A moving story about cultivating home in different places—one that leans into themes of healing, resilience, and finding center." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

Photos

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