Hip, funny, unique--and a perfect curriculum tie-in--here's a picture book with mega kid-appeal about the challenges a student faces when she is given an assignment to make a chart of her own home! Uma's been making charts since she was a little kid. But when her teacher gives the class Uma's dream assignment--to make a chart of their own homes--she is thrown for a loop. Oh, the possibilities! Oh, the pressure! What makes a house housey? she wonders. In order to figure it out, she asks each member of her family--Mom, Dad, and brothers Rex, Bram, and Lukey. But it's not until she has a meltdown and Lukey comforts her that Uma figures out the secret to her chart--and her family. It's the love that is shared inside a house's walls. Told in first-person and featuring engaging graphic artwork, this fun and lively picture book--perfect for classroom use--is a reminder that someone's true home is not a place, but rather the people with whom you surround yourself. Gr 1–3—Third grader Uma's charting habits cover the length of her father's fingers, her height, the number of freckles on her cheeks, the chronicling of her shin scrapes. She loves to make charts, even a chart of her gear for making them: pie charts, bar charts, Venn diagrams, pyramid charts, map charts, or tree charts. Examples of her personal charts include the moon phases and possibilities of werewolves, her personal food pyramid, or a record of the Wimple family's daily screen time. Above all, they are NOT simple doodles, but based upon data. Mixed media art in a subdued palette creates folk-inspired trees in a neighborhood of unique houses and highlights the detail of hand-drawn illustrations with a comic flair. When a class assignment is given to "draw a chart of your home," Uma is overwhelmed with the possibilities and ways to describe it. A variety of fonts emphasizes her scattered thoughts: should she chart brick patterns, or windows, maybe roof angles? She even charts the levels of love in her household and those who make it special. VERDICT What a tumble into a young girl's brain and heart, all calculations and systems. A suggested first purchase for libraries, this title brings creativity—and a bit of math—to an understanding of all of life.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano I.S.D., TX "Readers will delight in looking closely and learning more about Uma’s quirky hobby." — Kirkus Reviews “As an introduction to the visual presentation of data and the creative process, it’s a useful classroom adjunct.” —Publishers Weekly “A creative discussion of charts and their purpose that remembers to keep enjoyment as a key component.” —Booklist Reif Larsen is the author of two novels for adults, The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet (a New York Times bestseller) and I Am Radar. The Selected Works was won by Penguin in a ten-house auction for almost one million dollars, and was made into a movie, The Young and Prodigious T. S. Spivet , starring Kathy Bates and Helena Bonham-Carter. He also writes articles on travel for the New York Times, GQ, and others. Reif received an MFA from Columbia University. Visit him at reiflarsen.com. Ben Gibson spends his days making charts about things like birds, cats, dogs, wizards, skyscrapers, outer space, grammar, rap music, invisible things, fruits, vegetables, sharks, bicycles, and dinosaurs at the company he co founded, Pop Chart. Pop Chart’s award-winning designs can be seen in people’s homes all around the world, and in collaborations with brands such as the New York Times , Esquire , GQ , Wired, HBO, and Comedy Central, among others.