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Mar 06, 2009

Chandra rated it:

A lot of picture books just don't age well - even Caldecott winners from time to time become so dated they're just not appealing to a modern audience anymore. Fortunately, that is not the case for this 1943 medal winner. The illustrations have that unmistakable 'vintage' look, but they're also timeless. They're the kind that are deceptively simple at first glance, but once you start looking you can't stop noticing all the fun little details that mark the passage of time on each page. Even th More...

5 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jun 07, 2008

Suzanne rated it:

One of my favorite books from childhood this story remains timeless. This "little house" began its life in a bucolic, country setting and over time its integrity becomes threatened by encroaching development and neglect. For children, the concept of time is difficult to process. This story make it seem more understandable.
Of course there is a happy ending and the house is rescued and relocated to the country. I am reminded of this story when I see small towns transformed by More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2009

Rachel rated it:

This is a classic example of a carefully, meaningfully politicized picture book. The little house, sturdily built during a simpler age, loves her life in the country but harbors a strong curiosity of what it might be like to live in the city. Her curiosity is satisfied, with potentially devastating results, when the city encroaches on her countryside home.

Burton's tale relies on an almost universal acceptance of the pastoral ideal, and her message about the cost of rampant urbanizat More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 09, 2011

Allison rated it:

I'd forgotten how wonderful this book was. It surprises me that despite this book's being published in 1942, what happens to The Little House is the same exact thing that could happen today. I've felt the same way as The Little House, growing up in a more rural area, wondering about the city, becoming engulfed by life in the city and wanting to move back to a rural area.

I don't think of houses being picked up and moved back in the 1940s but they must have been. I've seen houses transp More...

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Sep 18, 2011

Lisa rated it:

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton is a contemporary picture book that my mother read to me as a child. I still have the ‘Weekly Reader’ edition that came to my house in the mail many years ago. The book describes how the foundation of a little pink house is compromised, both literally and figuratively by an encroaching city. As the book opens, the house is personified as happy and content. She watches the children play and the seasons slowly change from her little hill in the country. She More...

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Sep 06, 2011

Melissa rated it:

This story depicts the live cycle of a house. The little house is built upon a grassy green hill with dancing trees. The man who built the house says that the house should never be sold. The beginning of the little houses life is whimsical but with time the neighborhood where the little house sits goes through major changes as the seasons change and as technology is introduced. The mood of the changes is depictued through the colors used in the illustrations. When the little house is just buil More...

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Jan 15, 2011

Ronyell rated it:

I have been going through some books from my childhood and I have stumbled upon this great gem called “The Little House.” “The Little House” is a Caldecott Medal award winning book by Virginia Lee Burton and it is about how a small house learns the true meaning of “There’s no place like home” when a growing civilization is built around it over the years. “The Little House” is definitely a gem that you cannot afford to miss!

When I first read this book when I was little, I thought it More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 31, 2010

Josiah rated it:

This book is a true gem among winners of the Caldecott Medal. The artwork is of a rare, fine quality, of course, and the story is something soft and soothing and very pleasant, even as the little house faces the tumult of change as the decades of her existence go by.

The little house is built with much love, by a man for his family. He has a dream for the house that he has made, that she would never be sold as a mere possession, but would stand for generations to come, that this sam More...

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Aug 17, 2009

Jessicca rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Nov 04, 2010

Sweet on Books rated it:

This sweet, comforting story is just as special today as it was in 1943 when it won the Caldecott Medal. It begins with the Little House sitting solid and content on a quiet hillside in the country. From her perch on the hill, she is able to observe the beauty around her. She sees the children playing, the trees blossoming, even the city off in the distance. The seasons change, and eventually so do the years, but as Burton says “the Little House stayed just the same.” As time (and progress) marc More...

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Jan 23, 2012

Rachel rated it:

I remember reading "The Little House" as a little girl and it being one of my favorite picture books. I loved the illustrations in it, thus looking at it again now, I feel that it deserved to win the Caldecott Award. The pictures start out clean and colorful when the little house is happy in the beginning of the book. Then in the middle of the book, the pictures look more dirty with less color to show the sadness the house is experiencing. At the end, the pictures are bright and colorf More...

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Mar 19, 2010

Michelle added it

Literacy Device: Personification. A little house stood way out in the country until the city gradually moved closer and closer. Takes a look at the changing seasons and how industrialism has changed the landscape. The little house is personified through the use of human senses and the expression of human emotions.

This book surprised me by how much is going on in the story! On a personal note it reminded me of the time when we were living in Queensbury, NY and my husband complain More...

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Feb 11, 2009

Jan rated it:

I'm at my parents' house re-reading some of my childhood books, trying to decide if they're as good as I remember. So far, they are. What's different is that I now imagine that I can deconstruct the social messages encoded in these charming tales for wee ones. This one is a pretty good polemic against industrialization for the six-and-under set. Can't say I disagree with it, given the current state of the earth and its atmosphere.

The other thing I notice about these books, including More...

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Aug 27, 2011

Pamelabyoung rated it:

I am not sure when I read this book for the first time, but I know that I checked it out from the elementary school library when I was in about second grade. I believe that the seed was planted for the project that has taken many, many years of my life, because I now live in my grandparents' house which we moved 100 miles to our own little hilltop. While my house did not come from a big city, we wanted to be sure that the house in which we had spent so many Christmases and other holidays in crow More...

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Aug 20, 2011

Heather rated it:

1943 Caldecott Medal Winner

Detailed water color illustrations catch the eye in this all-color book. Pictures of the phases of the moon, the seasons, and various country and cityscapes add to the text.

This one brought tears to my eyes--a story about a forgotten little country house around whom the city grows up. The great great granddaughter of the builder comes and moves the little house back to the country, possibly living in it just like her great great grandfather wa More...

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Jan 19, 2012

Traci rated it:

This book is a classic, written in the 1940's. It talks about the industrialization of this country and how things move so fast now instead of being more relaxed and content. The book is about a little house who was built on top of a hill in the countryside and over time roads start being built around her, and then neighborhoods and high-rises and subways, and the little house is no longer happy; she misses the open country. It is surprising that even in the 40's the author saw this; I can't ima More...

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Sep 16, 2009

Cathleen rated it:

My memories of this book are still so strong. I originally received this book as a birthday present for my 4th birthday, 1974. I can still see my grandmother's inscription on the inside cover, With Love, Grandmother and Grandfather, 1974.

I spent hours just looking at the pictures, even as I grew older I would spend a lot of time looking through the book. I would pretend that it was MY little house, my pond that I swam butt naked in, my apple trees, my school bus.

S More...

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Nov 08, 2009

Suzanne rated it:

This story shows the progress of man as the house is surrounded more and more every year by the growing city. As the years pass, the house deteriorates and seems to look ill from the smog and noise pollution that surrounds it. Once the house is moved back to the country, it is revitalized and seems to be a happy place. I thought this was a predictable book. The pattern appeared as urban growth took place, and surrounded the house. I don’t know how I knew, but I must have assumed the house w More...

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Apr 10, 2010

Beth rated it:

The Little House started in the country and saw the seasons pass and changes in the area over time. Transportation changes from horse and carriage and road develop. The lush country landscape changes to areas of tenement houses and it is difficult to tell that changing of seasons. No one wants to live in the house until the great-great-granddaughter notices the house from the stories she heard and moves the house back to the country.
This story is great when talking about changes, urban sp More...

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Nov 28, 2011

Kristin rated it:

Classic(picture book)
The Little House by Virginia Burton was a extremely well written book! I enjoyed reading this book because it was very engaging and had a good message that went along with it. The story was about a house that was out in the country and slowly industrial movement built up all around her and she become lost in the hustle of the busy people and the tall elaborate buildings. At the end, the great great grand daughter saw how miserable the house looked and decided to move More...

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Jun 11, 2011

Abbey rated it:

Caldecott. This book was cute. It is abotu how a house always wanted to see what they city was like, but once the city formed around her she was not happy anymore. She could not tell when the different seasons came and went and no one ever lived in her anymore. One day the great-great-grandaughter of the guy who built the house, reconized it. The great-great-grandaughter took the house back out to the country to live in it. This is a great learning book for younger kids when they are learning a More...

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Nov 13, 2010

CI546_Jennifer rated it:

This is a great story. After reading this story, I used it in my social studies unit on communities. The story begins with this great little house. As years go by, the neighborhood changes and big building are being built. The little house still stands among the big buildings of the city. As the city is being built around this little house, it begins to show the neglect of someone taking care of it. Then someone from the original families owner comes to rescue the house and bring it back to the More...

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Feb 06, 2012

Julie rated it:

Over many years, the Little House ponders the larger world and wonders about the city. As the city encroaches, she misses the country and her old routine.

Burton does a beautiful job representing the various seasons and marking the progression of time and urban development. As the city develops around the house, the colors are darker and the Little House appears to be sad and depressed. As the Little House leaves the city for a more favorable environment, the colors begin to bright More...

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May 11, 2011

Lisa rated it:

I still remember my mother reading this story to me as a little girl, and I found that I loved it just as much many years later as I read it to my children. The story of a little house built in the country, but when the city slowly encroaches upon it, it is abandoned and left missing its hill with the apple trees and daisies. One day, however, the great grandaughter of the man who built the house finds it, and her family moves it out to the country, where it is happy once more. Such a sweet s More...

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Sep 23, 2009

Lynn rated it:

I could say this is positively my favorite kids book but that would be a bit disingenuous... this is actually one of my favorite books period. When my kiddo pulls all his books off the shelf and I see this one on the floor, I have to read it. Doesn't matter that he's too young to be interested. Sometimes I think of myself as the little house...started on a farm, sucked to the city, and after 10 years escaped to the mountains to live happily ever after. (wait I hope that doesn't also mean I a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 02, 2011

David rated it:

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton is a classic Caldecott Medal- winning story about a little country house that becomes surrounded by buildings and city traffic. This story looks at country versus city life, with country life portrayed as better. While this is a bit overstated and simplifed regarding the negative aspects of city life(with no mention of parks, museums, zoos, etc.), it's a subject that is still very appropriate today over six decades later. Using the house as the main charac More...

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May 31, 2010

Gwen rated it:

This was my all time favorite book as a very young child! The pictures and words are beautifully interwoven and initially depict the natural cycles that the "little house" watches every day. Later, the little house observes the inevitable march of "progress" from horse and buggy to automobiles, fields and forest to subdivisions and pavement, from the well-tended family home on a large tract of land to city high rises...
One of the best parts is, there is a happy ending t More...

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Oct 09, 2008

Andrea rated it:

This book was originally published in 1942. I remember my Mom reading this book to my sister and me when we were growing up (many years after the original publication date). I didn't know until I was older that both of us always thought of our house as "The Little House." We lived in the only house on the block. We were surrounded by apartments, while not as large as those shown in the illustrations, we could still relate. When I was in college, I witnessed a house being moved from More...

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Mar 17, 2008

Charissa rated it:

I am starting to feel just like the little house in this book. I live in a tiny cute little old cottage with a white picket fence in one of the oldest parts of town. But it is also near the river, where there are warehouses and such, so it's kind of industrial as well. So the developers have taken it upon themselves to turn this into the hip new area of town "The Theatre District" and are building condos and such all around the little place I live. I now have construction in the ba More...

9 comments like

Mar 23, 2011

Sarah rated it:

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton earned the Caldecott Medal in 1943. It's the charming story of a little house that was built far from the city and the city grows up around it. The house is moved again to the countryside and the book ends with the sense that the city will someday meet up with the house again.

The book can be seen as an anti urban sprawl story but it's really more about the passage of time and the little reminders that are left, like the little country houses tu More...

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