Home Is a Heartbeat

A narrating child feels a shared residence come alive one morning in this connective picture book that follows a household’s rhythms. At breakfast, the Latinx family gathers, dancing, sharing food, and connecting. The house, built by relations and inhabited by multiple generations, holds mementos of late loved ones. Acknowledging the presence of those ancestors in the home, the narrative gently reflects on the comforts and challenges of living with a large family, and the need for each individual to have their own “special place.” Even the building itself seems to live and breathe: “Doors open and close like a yawn. Floorboards creak like a big good-morning stretch,” Kemp writes. Swirls of warm pinks and purples float through Mora’s loosely rendered multimedia scenes of everyday life, conveying the family’s deep bond with one another and with their home. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)