In this wordless picture book, James Ransome depicts a few hours in the lives of a mother and her son through colorfully detailed illustrations. The mother picks her son up at school at the end of the day. The pair then have dinner at a food court and go to the local public library so the boy can complete his homework. After the library closes for the evening, the mother and her son walk to the park and prepare to spend the night on a bench. At this point, readers realize that this family is unhoused. In the morning, the boy gets ready for school by changing his shirt, having his hair combed, and brushing his teeth in a water fountain. The book ends with the mother dropping her son off for another day of school.  

Illustrated in watercolors, colored pencils, and graphite pencils, A Place for Us features numerous full-page spreads that carry the complete weight of the story. All the critical literary elements—narrative structure, development of character, description of the setting, tone, and theme--are revealed through Ransome’s nuanced and meticulous images. A smile and a hug for an after-school greeting, an arm around the shoulder in the restaurant, a bustling urban street, humorous poses at unexpected times and places, the appearance of nocturnal animals around the bench, and a concerned glance around in the dark of night exemplify how Ransome’s illustrations bring this powerful story to his readers. While the book’s full-page spreads showcase Ransome’s skills as an artist, readers will also appreciate pages that use spot images to depict everyday activities like saying grace, changing shirts, and dancing among the falling leaves. 

James Ransome has received numerous awards, including ALSC’s 2023 Children's Literature Legacy Award, during his storied career as an author and illustrator. However, a Caldecott Medal or Honor is not among those awards. Could A Place for Us be his first Caldecott? This wordless picture book meets all the criteria for the award — excellence in artistic execution and pictorial interpretation as well as appropriateness of style and description of literary elements through illustrations. Above all else, A Place for Us excels where it matters the most in a story of this nature, in its excellence of the presentation in recognition of a child audience. Ransome’s images are never sensational, didactic, or sentimental. A Place for Us does not attempt to manipulate the reader’s emotions or try to teach a lesson. It does not instruct readers on what they should think. In the author's note at the beginning of the book, Ransome writes, “My hope is that this book sparks readers to ask: In a country of vast resources, what is our responsibility to those without access to the basic necessities?” This book does not provide answers. Rather, readers are left to draw their own conclusions about the lives of the characters. The power of this story lies in its ability to humanize homelessness in a way that children can take to heart. Is A Place for Us a contender for the Caldecott? Absolutely! 

[Read The Horn Book Magazine review of A Place for Us]