Author: Kao Kalia Yang
Illustrator: Jen Shin
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
Review Copy: ARC via Publisher
Availability: Release date February 10, 2026
Summary: A Hmong girl tells the story of her beloved aunt and uncle’s first home in America—long gone, but still alive in the family’s memories The Blue House I Loved centers on a family of newly arrived Hmong refugees who move into the lower level of a duplex in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The narrator loves her aunt and uncle’s home with its mismatched furniture, but it is too small for the large family. The boy cousins sleep in the three-season porch, where their wet hair freezes in wintertime, and the rest of the family crowds into two bedrooms. Yet this is the cherished home where they live and love, their own small corner of a very large and unfamiliar place, and in this blue house a young girl learns about her new country. Eventually, the family moves in search of more space, and years later the house is torn down. Where it was, green grass now grows. But for this girl and her family, the ghost of the house remains, its memories a strong thread that holds time at bay and hearts close together.
Combining Kao Kalia Yang’s lyrical prose with ethereal illustrations by artist and architect Jen Shin, The Blue House I Loved speaks to the multitude of refugee experiences around the world, honoring the challenges they face and the homes they create together.
My Thoughts: I always look forward to new books by Kai Kalia Yang and this one was no exception. No matter the topic, her words always make me feel like I am able to step into a space filled with love.
As in her other works, Yang has shared much of her heart within these pages. We see children tumbling through the rooms of this home, a baby nursing, and cousins enjoying their days, but also getting into a fight. There are so many everyday details of how they interacted with each other. It's a nostalgic book and leads readers to contemplate the spaces in their own past experiences. It reminds us that the spaces we spend time in and the people we encounter in those places shape us and help to make us who we are in the present and who we will be in the future.
The illustrations support the text very well and make me eager to share the book with my students. I will likely read it soon with some of my classes. There are activity sheets provided on the publisher page, but even without those prompts, the book looks perfect for inspiring readers to draw a place that is special to them from different perspectives. There are views of the rooms from the top, from the outside, and cross-sections too. It feels like we are getting architectural input along with the interior emotions. They provide somewhat technical images along with the warmth of the colors and the family interactions.
Recommendation: This is a fantastic addition to any library and is somewhat unique in its perspective. We see an immigrant family settling into their new country and finding their way to new paths, but we also see that we can hold onto memories even if those places and spaces no longer exist in the world. Change plays a part in shaping us and it's possible to remember and honor those changes and the spaces where that change and growth has happened.
Extras:
Podcast Interview with author and illustrator
