Country: Italy Title: Casa del Tempo [The House] Language: Italian, Spanish, English, and other languages Bibliographic Information: Lewis, J. Patrick. Casa del Tempo [The House]. Ills. Roberto Innocenti. Rome: La Margherita, 2010. ISBN: 9788887169959

Summary:
A stone house in the Italian countryside tells its story, from when it was first built in 1656 up until contemporary times. The evocative verse and detailed illustrations present the transformations of the house and its surroundings, as multiple eras and generations pass by.

Reason for choosing the book:
This picture book is a great introduction to Italian culture, history, architecture, landscape, etc. The consecutive snapshots of the same place in different eras, along with the multiple stories that relate to the same house, can provide stimulation for excellent learning activities. The poetic language can be viewed as an advantage for second language teaching - and not as an obstacle as some educators may view it - since meaning is condensed into only a few words, thus urging us to focus on specific words and their meaning(s).

Links to relevant sites:
http://www.thecreativecompany.us/news_pdfs/Bookbird%20Innocenti.pdf
Bookbird article about the illustrator

http://loverforbooks.blogspot.com/2010/01/roberto-innocenti.html
About the illustrator

http://www.answers.com/topic/roberto-innocenti
About the illustrator

http://biography.jrank.org/pages/1533/Innocenti-Roberto-1940.html
About the illustrator

http://www.library.northwestern.edu/exhibits/hca/illustrator.html#innocenti
About the illustrator