Module 3: The Little House

Book Cover:

Book Summary:  Virginia Lee Burton’s Caldecott winner tells the story of a house and the changes that surround it throughout many decades.  It starts out in the countryside enjoying sunsets and country noises.  As the years pass buildings move in and soon the little house is surrounded by a city.  It can no longer see the sunset and new strange noises are more common.  In the end a relative finds the house and moves it back to the countryside.  The house is restored and enjoys the sunsets once again.

APA Reference:

Burton, V. L. (1942). The little house.  New York, NY:  Virginia Lee Demetrion.

Impressions: This story allowed me to connect to the house, which was surprising.  The reader feels sympathy for the house as it responds to changing environment around it.  It made me think about how I deal with change.  It’s funny that a picture book about a house could affect your emotions in this way.

Professional Review:

Barbara Elleman comments, “A small pink house gradually loses her bucolic setting to urban chaos until, rescued by an ancestor of her original owner, she is happily returned to the countryside. Virginia Lee Burton's The Little House begins with a promise, evolves into a heart-tugging drama, and closes on a pleasing note. A simple story. A simple message. The book, which has touched readers young and old and been revered for a dozen different reasons, has stayed in print for six decades. In today's fast-track cycle from print to out-of-print, its endurance is indeed noteworthy."

Elleman, B. (2002, August 01). Virginia Lee Burton: An American classic. Retrieved from                http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA236063.html

Library Use:  The librarian can have students respond to the story with comparisons of country living versus city living.  What are the differences?  Which one would they prefer?  Why do they think the house enjoyed the countryside?