Friday, January 4, 2008

The Little House


The Little House, by Virginia Lee Burton, was suggested by Aneesa, if you recall. She mentioned the language used by the author. Indeed the text is beautiful, great for lap reading. I can start reading it to Maya now, and she'll enjoy it more and more as she grows and understands more.

The little house is built in the country, but eventually is swallowed up by the growing city, until the builder's great-great-granddaughter moves her further into the country. The drawings are sweet and have a lot of details to explore. In most of the pages, the house stays in the same spot while the world transforms around it, which fits the theme perfectly.

My copy is a 1969, but the book was first published in 1942. Sometimes when books are re-issued, the illustrations are updated, such as adding color or expanding them on the page. I don't know if that's the case here.

By the way, The Little House was a Caldecott award winner. This years award will be given soon. We'll certainly check out the winners.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This was one of my favorites growing up as well. You know a good children's book by the generations that can enjoy it. I think I can credit these illustrations for my longing to live out in the country. I look forward to sharing this with Maya in the years to come.

Maya's mom