Rereading: THE HOUSE THAT GREW by L. M. Boston

This 1969 picture book for young readers must be Boston’s shortest book at 28 pages, half of them full page woodcut illustrations by Caroline Hemming, but as usual her creative skill and magical imagination makes it seem longer. Twin sisters, young Mickey and Mouse (those names are the one misstep in the book I think) find a tiny house growing in a pasture near their home. It appears to be coming from the ground like a mushroom, but it’s shaped like a human house with doors, windows, a roof and chimney. A ladybug seems to be living in it. Each day, when the girls return to the house, it’s larger, making room for ever larger inhabitants: first a honeybee, then a lizard, then two puppies, and so on. Eventually it’s large enough to hold people, and discovered by the head of the local planning board. What will happen to the magical house then?

Recommended.

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