Friday, August 22, 2008

The Little House

The Little House
Virginia Lee Burton/ published 1942 by Houghton Mifflin


Another nod to one of the best children's books ever. (Feeling like I'm hitting too much obscure or random stuff without getting through the classics, so bear with me.) The Little House is one of those reads that is so great, you'd almost like to marry it in the old "if you love it so much why don't you marry it?" sense of the word.

Sooooooo, there is this gorgeous, sweet and idyllic little cottage in the country, and she's happy and healthy and dear...

Once there was a Little House way out in the country. She was a pretty Little House and she was strong and well built. The man who built her so well said, "This Little House shall never be sold for gold or silver and she will live to see our great-great-grandchildren's great-great-grandchildren living in her."

Alas... all good things come to an end. When the Little House becomes curious about the city, she soon gets her wish when the world grows up around her, and she finds herself all alone among the big city lights and sky scrapers. You guys who read this blog and love things of old will really appreciate the sentiment here. If you've never experienced the joy of reading the Little House's tale of happiness, woe and redemption out loud to your child, get ready. Around page 32 is when the tears well up. I get the same sensation from this story that I used to get as a child listening to Edelweiss from the Sound of Music. Scratch that... we are listening to it now, and apparently that song still set my goosebumps afire.

My boy loves this book and truly experiences empathy for the Little House on every read. Virginia Lee Burton is really, really good at creating genuine stories like this. She is the real thing and a treasure indeed. Never EVER, EVER pass up the chance to grab one of her books for a song. Shoot, hers might even be worth paying full cover price. ;)

Also by:
Calicio the Wonder Horse or The Saga of Stewy Stinker
Life Story

10 comments:

Kathleen said...

I LOVE this book! My mom used to read it to me when I was a kid and I've since read it to my kids as well. I think it has such a great lesson and such cute pictures. Thanks for showcasing this one!

Sarah Jane said...

this is MY ALL TIME favorite story! I even have it displayed up on a shelf in my kids room! The colors on the cover are decor worthy...but the story itself is precious!! thanks for posting this one!!

Rochelle R. said...

I like this book but for some reason the kids at my day care center were never interested in it. Maybe it just needs to be a one on one read. Today at a thrift store I got Marina by Ludwig Bemelman. It was published in 1962 and is a very cute story about a seal family. Marina, the baby has a harrowing encounter with a shark.

Burgin Streetman said...

will have to check out that Marina... never seen it before. thanks for the tip. i am all about tips!

Burgin Streetman said...

as for marina... great score. can't find it for less than $75 and the library doesn't even have it. soooo jealous!

Unknown said...

I have a faint memory of this book from childhood. Thank you for bringing it to light!

Debbie R said...

What a great story. The pictures are very familiar to me. I am not sure if I had this one or not or maybe it was a friends book. At any rate it looks fantastic and I would love to have it in our library at home.

Anonymous said...

I've been wondering for years about this book, but since I didn't remember the title, author, or even the plot, but only remembered the pictures, it was impossible to search for. Thank you so much for bringing me back to a childhood love.

Burgin Streetman said...

love those childhood book connections jason... glad i could help!

Pete said...

I grew up adoring Mike Mulligan, but it wasn't until my daughter was given a four-in-one Burton collection that I discovered The Little House. And now, as much as I love Mike Mulligan, I love The Little House just as much. What a wonderful story.

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