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The Little House (Hardcover)
by Virginia Lee Burton
| Category:
Picture books, Award-winning books, Age 4-8 |
| Market price: ¥ 178.00
MSL price:
¥ 158.00
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| Stock:
In Stock |
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A beautifully illustrated book with profound messages that young children definitely will get and think about. Should be in every kid's library. |
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Author: Virginia Lee Burton
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; Library Binding edition
Pub. in: April, 1978
ISBN: 0395181569
Pages: 44
Measurements: 10 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BC00366
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0395181560
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Rate this product:
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- Awards & Credential -
Winner of the Caldecott Medal in 1942. A timeless classic with great illustrations and moral. |
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- MSL Picks -
The year is 1942 and America has fallen head over heels in love with a whole new literary form. It's sweeping the nation! It's appearing hither and yon! Yes, in the early 1940s, picture books were suddenly awash in inanimate objects with human characteristics. Whether it was "The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge", or the Caldecott winning, "The Little House", children were reading about a variety of living breathing pieces of architecture. Virginia Lee Burton was especially good at this kind of book. Her previous venture, "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel", was a smash hit (remaining so today). So Burton decided to up the stakes a little and write a similar story about a little house. In this book, however, Burton outdoes herself by being able to convey seasons, the passage of time, and the nasty ways cities have of encroaching on country landscapes all within a scant 40 pages.
Long ago a little house was built in the country. The man who built her decided that this house, special as it was, could never be bought and sold. Instead, he planned on leaving it to his children, his children's children, and his children's children's children. Etc. The house was pleased with the arrangement. It watched the seasons go by. It watched the children that played in it grow up and move away. It even watched the changing fashions and modes of transportation. Horse and buggies one day, automobiles the next. This is all well and good until a new asphalt road appears. Suddenly it's a heckuva lot easier for people to reach the area in which the little house lives. Things get faster and suddenly the little house is surrounded by tenement houses. Then there are trolley cars (oh the trolley cars). Next comes elevated trains, and subways, and (worst of all) gigantic skyscrapers on either side of the now seriously dilapidated little house. One day, a descendent of the original owner sees the house and inquires after it. Since it turns out she owns it (I guess... the book's a little shaky on the legal aspects of ownership at this point) the house is summarily picked up by movers and taken to the country she loves so much. Happy house. Happy family. The end.
I wonder what the percentage is of children reading this book and realizing that, in time, the city will probably come to surround the little house yet again. There has probably never been a better book that delineates so clearly the horrors of urban sprawl. On a less hoity-toity level, this is just a darn good book. Burton's illustrations are simple little paintings with tiny human figures. Due to the fact that there are nineteen pictures of the little house that are basically looking at it straight on without any change in perspective or angle, it's mind-boggling that Burton has still managed to make every single illustration unique and interesting. Whether she's filled the page with autumnal colors, or is driving home the horror of the little house's fate through stark black and white images, these pictures are incredibly well done. Kids reading the book will enjoy the different vehicles and tiny human figures that dot each page. Adults will enjoy the craft Burton has taken with her storytelling.
There are a lot of Caldecott award winning books that have aged oh - so badly. Animals of the Bible comes to mind as does the gawdawful Abraham Lincoln by the Parin d'Aulaires. This book, however, is well worthy of its praise. It may not be a flashy irony-soaked post-modern picture book like the ones being written today (and admittedly, I love a good irony-soaked picture book as much as the next gal) but it holds its ground and deserves to be remembered. Give it half a chance and you'll wind up loving it.
(From quoting E. Bird, USA)
Target readers:
Best for all kids age 4-8, but is also good for children of other age groups and adults.
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- Better with -
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Virginia Lee Burton (1909-1968) was the talented author and illustrator of some of the most enduring books ever written for children. The winner of the 1942 Caldecott Medal for The Little House, Burton's books include heroes and happy endings, lively illustrations, and a dash of nostalgia. She lived with her two sons, Aristides and Michael, and her husband George Demetrios, the sculptor, in a section of Gloucester, Massachusetts, called Folly Cove. Here she taught a class in design and from it emerged the Folly Cove designers, a group of internationally known professional artisans. She is the author of many classic children's picture books, including Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and Katy and The Big Snow.
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This one of the most beautifully illustrated childrens books of all time. There are no computer graphics, but the simple illustrations have a definite folksy, Americana feel about them. The pages where Burton depicts the changing seasons are gorgeous, and have lost none of their vivacity. I can't imagine not always having a copy of this book around to show my nephews and nieces, and to read to them. It's a keeper, and I will gladly go through tens of copies just to ensure it's always around.
Kids love the book because of the picture, and the great sequencing. I love the book because it's just well written, and I have memories of having it read to me when I was in kindergarten.
This has always been one of my mother's favorite books, and it's also been one of mine as well. I think this book ages rather well, and it's an interesting look at the growth and development of the country. Some may see this book as being "anti-development", but it's hard not to sympathize with the house as the landscape around her changes and becomes less familiar.
My last thought is that I hope when I do have nephews and nieces that there still will be countrysides like the ones depicted in this book.
(From quoting Edward Aycock, USA)
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| View all 7 comments |
Carolyn (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
This is another great classic that should be in every child's library. A winner of the Caldecott award in 1942, this book is just timeless. It begins in Victorian times showing the little house with horse-drawn carriages and ladies dressed in their finery, and progresses to the "advances" with cars and trucks. It tells the story of a house that wonders what it's like to live in the city and unfortunately, finds out. Gone is the beautiful countryside which is replaced with large buildings, railways, cars, subways, etc. Then the great-great granddaughter sees the house and moves it back to the countryside to live in it with her family and makes the house very happy. It's a truly neat story because it is what happened to the author's own home. You have to get this book for your children - it's just so sweet and neat how the book ends. Progress isn't always progress. My little guy just loved it and I read my copy to him which shows how important of a classic this one is to have. Mine is over 35 years old.
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Ira Grosman (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
The Little House was my favorite bedtime story, so the book's illustrations bring back memories of a happy childhood. I remember my mom reading it to me endless numbers of times. Although I did not know who wrote the book, the vivid illustrations in the book and the author's text made me realize that this little house had just as much feeling as we humans do. Just watching the serene countryside where this house stood gradually transformed into a big city filled with noise and pollution causes this little house to feel just as disappointed with urban sprawl as we humans do and to yourn for a more simpler life in the countryside. This is a very heartwarming tale of survival. In a phoenixlike fashion, the author shows that although the house eventaully becomes delapidated and forgotten, the house is eventually rescued by a descendant of the building's original owner and returned to the more peaceful life in the countryside that this house once knew. |
Roz Levine (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
"Once upon a time there was a Little House way out in the country. She was a pretty Little House and she was strong and well built." She sat on a hill covered with daisies and surrounded by apple trees, and enjoyed the sun during the day, the moon and stars at night, and the changing seasons. And way, way off in the distance she could see just a hint of the city lights. "The Little House was curious about the city and wondered what it would be like to live there." One day surveyors came, then steam shovels, trucks, and steam rollers, and soon they had built a road. "Now the Little House watched the trucks and automobiles going back and forth to the city. Gasoline stations... roadside stands... and small houses followed the new road. Everyone and everything moved much faster now than before." Soon more roads were built, then more houses, apartments, tenements, schools, stores, and garages crowded the Little House. A trolley ran back and forth in front of her, an elevated train ran above her, and a subway beneath. She was sad and lonely, dirty and in disrepair. "No one wanted to live in her and take care of her any more."
Then one fine morning the great-great-granddaughter of the man who built the Little House was hurrying by. She recognized the poor Little House and stopped... Originally published in 1942, Virginia Lee Burton's timeless classic is as fresh and charming today, as it was sixty years ago. Her gentle and engaging text is full of empathy, and brings the endearing Little House to life. Youngsters will feel the joy and contentment of country life when the Little House had purpose and was full of family and fun, and the sadness and loneliness as the city encroaches, and she becomes shabby, broken, and forgotten. Ms Burton's sweet and simple, illustrations are whimsical, and add just the right touch. Perfect for little ones 3-7 and complete with a satisfying happily-ever-after ending, The Little House is a perfect little treasure to read and share with friends and family now, and future generations in the years to come.
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Bruce Horner (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
This has got to be the best all-round Virginia Lee Burton book, which means it's one of the best children's books of all time. The simple prose reaches a level of lyricism not found in Mike Mulligan, and the illustrations have a folksy charm and energy that's just right. Reading it as an adult, one thinks of all the little houses that were NOT saved, and of the ongoing suburban sprawl that's even now despoiling the landscape, but the fact that the eponymous little house is moved and cared for once again by the end makes it a good story for little kids. Other books by Burton tend to wear me down with repetition, but this one remains fresh with almost every rereading that my kid's demand.
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