A Very Special House

by Ruth Krauss, Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)

Continuing a two-year program to bring back twenty-two Maurice Sendak treasures long out of print, our second season of publication highlights one of the most successful author-illustrator pairings of all time. A pioneer of great children's literature, Ruth Krausspublished more than thirty books for children during a career that spanned forty years. Krauss and Sendak collaborated on eight books, and we are delighted to reintroduce four of these gems in brand-new editions, together with a favorite Maurice Sendak picture book.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Poetry, Kids, Classics, Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Ruth Ida Krauss was an American writer of children's books, including The Carrot Seed, and of theatrical poems for adult readers.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book for the very young and young at heart. I would think this is one of Maurice’s earlier works. He is the illustrator here. I don’t think his style has evolved here. It seems he is still working that out, but the little boy in the story does look like a Sendak character.

Overall, I think the art and the story is very simplistic. I think this is one of those nice little stories where kids get it and adults miss it. I think the point of the story is wonderful. The little boy shows us all the amazing things about his house. It’s a special place of freedom. Where is that place, in his head. Now that resonates with me. I do love that. In this world, we have to keep that house in our heads to survive the trials in life.

I read this one to the nephew. He liked all the crazy things that happen in the boys house like a lion eating a chair or bouncing on the beds and writing on the walls. He thought it was grand. He gave it 4 stars. I needed to see this through his eyes.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

And this is why we don't take LSD, children.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful illustrations, the storyline was a bit far out for me, I don't know what happened actually.

Read on openlibrary.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had never heard of this 1954 Caldecott Honor winning title until I picked it up for my Caldecott Challenge, although I knew Sendak had a hand in an earlier Calecott book before he won one in 1964 for "Where the Wild Things Are." The text definitely reminds you of a small boy making up a nonsense story for his imaginary or stuffed animal friends. Maurice Sendak's whimsical drawings of the boy and all the animals make the story more special. Although I liked the illustrations, I wasn't a fan of the text. Recommended for ages 1-6, 2 stars.

[Dolly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Odd, very odd. I pitched it to our girls as a comparable tale to Harold and the Purple Crayon, but it really is much stranger than that classic tale. I see that this book garnered a Caldecott Honor nod, but I'm not entirely sure why. But then, I've never been much of a fan of Maurice Sendak's work.

The lyrical, nonsensical narrative is easy to read aloud, but it just didn't really appeal to us. The story was okay, but I don't remember reading it when I was a child, and I have a feeling this one will be quickly forgotten for our girls, too.

May 2018 update: Read this book again by myself and I found it to be slightly more charming than the first time I read it. Still, I don't know if it would appeal with young children - our girls weren't big fans of it.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruth Krauss’s chanting, child’s voice and Sendak’s child-drawings together imagine “just a home for me – me – me!” Where a child can put feet on the table, draw on the walls, and bring home “a monkey and a skunky and a very old lion who is eating all the stuffing from the chairs, chairs, chairs!” Uptight adults will not approve of all that, of course, but most children will be delighted by this boisterous, “special” house.

[Melki · Rating 2 out of 5]

All the manic hooie hooie hooies and dee dee dees only served to aggravate me.

Where are the Wild Things when you need 'em?

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

My youngest son often talked just like that, going about singing his random-sounding thoughts out loud. I just loved how expressive and open some children are, letting us see the world through their eyes.

And I love how Krauss (and Sendak) captured those innocent voices.

Reread of a Caldecott Honor book; for more discussion see the Children's Books group.

[Laura5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite line:
"Oh it's right in the middle--
oh it's ret in the meedle--
oh it's root in the moodle of my head, head, head"

[Cassandra Gelvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple book, but good.

It's cute. A little boy describes a strange imaginary house in a sing-song fashion, where everything is special and unusual, and he has animals and a giant that play with him. It's pretty short and silly, with a little bit of repetition, but not too much that it gets really annoying. And it's made clear that the house is imaginary, as one of the last phrases is "it's right in the middle... of my head." The little boy gets to do things in this imaginary house that he might not be allowed to do in his real house, like pour crumbs on the cushions and jump on the beds.

Sendak's mischievous line drawings of the little boy and his companions are adorable. It's a simple ode to imagination and individuality.

Message: You can imagine any kind of life you want.

For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.

[Samantha Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and what it had to offer, but it would not be my first choice to read to my classroom. Illustrations were great, but the book was mostly an orange color throughout besides the color of the boy. The drawings that were just black were very intriguing and there is no doubt it wouldn't hold students' attention. It seemed to have a rythym to a song or a medley because at first I thought it was a rhyming book, but it was more than that. It seemed like a song he was singing that was talking his special house. Very random, but it was definitely interesting to read.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruth Krauss and Maurice Sendak made such a perfect picture book writing team. This book speaks to children on their level and celebrates creativity in an exuberant and empowering way. The text reminds me of the way preschoolers just ramble on and on about whatever is important to them, regardless of their audience and the illustrations are just wonderfully imaginative and full of life. For a book drawn in only four colors, it is surprisingly successful and appealing.

[Amy Mcmullan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caldecot Honor Book - I honestly am not sure if I love this book or hate it entirely. This book is about a house and the animals and all that goes on in it from a little boy's imagination. Some made up words and repetitive words. The illustrations are fitting (by Maurice Sendak who created the illustrations for "Where the Wild Things Are").

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way this book reads like a song that starts out oh-so-ordinary and goes wild with imagination as the little boy gives us a tour of his bedroom and a tour of his gigantic world of "other" not-so-normal things for a bedroom.

[Mckinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really is very special

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd Caldecott Honor book from the 1950s. Strengths - it's illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Even though Ruth Krauss is the author, it has a little bit of Where the Wild Things and Bumble-Ardy in it.

[La Coccinelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Frenetic" and "obnoxious" are the main two words I can think of to describe this book. It doesn't help that I've got an earworm from the verse. I don't recall my mom ever reading this book to me and my sister (heck, it's old enough that maybe someone read it to my mom!) but I'm kind of glad it wasn't a part of my childhood. I have a feeling my mom would be glad, too!

Some people seem to think that Ruth Krauss remembers and captures childhood quite well. Maybe if your childhood included ADHD! There's nothing to really focus on here. The narrative jumps from place to place in a way that's going to be exhausting for the adults who have to read the book aloud. And, let's face it, any kid who carries around a dead mouse in a box... well, that's just not right. I don't think I'd want to normalize that sort of behaviour.

The illustrations are really nothing special. I'm afraid I've yet to see what all the Maurice Sendak hype is about. Maybe he was a big deal back in his day, but there are so many amazing children's book illustrators out there now. Just because something's old doesn't necessarily mean it's awesome; if I'm comparing his work to what I see coming out today, it's mediocre, at best.

I'm still strangely intrigued by Ruth Krauss after reading this and Everything Under a Mushroom. Was the woman smoking something? Was she mentally ill? I don't know. But her books are kind of like a train wreck that I just can't look away from. While they might not capture childhood (at least, not the way I remember it), they're a fascinating look into a very different sort of mind.

[Sarah A · Rating 2 out of 5]

A famous author and a very famous illustrator made an award winning book. I'm usually a big fan of older books and the award made me happy when my daughter picked it at the library. However...this book lost me a little.
It has good simple words for the early reader - but has quite a few made up ones that just confused her.
It has beautiful illustrations - but some didn't quite line up with the text. If every line of text has an associated picture then it works but not if only 9/10 do!
It is a fun story exploring a boy's imagination but is told in a bit of a weird way - and why does it have to be a dead mouse?

Ok, old fashioned and a bit peculiar. I can see how it appeals but it didn't fully get me.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

• 1954 Caldecott Honor Book •

I really love these whimsical drawings by Maurice Sendak, but I don’t like or get the text by Ruth Krauss. The nonsensical words just don’t appeal to me. All the pages are yellow, which is my least favorite color, but I really like it because so many children’s book have white pages. It’s just sort of fun and different, and the addition of blue is really nice. Zero stars for the text, but five for the illustrations!

Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are very lively and energetic, but not Sendak's best work. Most of the pictures are black ink sketches on a light orange background. Only the little boy's clothes have color: a white shirt and blue overalls. The text is more a poem than a story, in which the little boy shares his thoughts about a dream house. And the illustrations extend the text by depicting more than is stated, such as how the door, chair and bed are very special.
(Caldecott Honor 1954)

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's told from a child's point of view, with made-up words and a sing-song rhythm.
I wouldn't want to read this every night to a kid who loved it.
Or maybe I wouldn't mind, but not because of the story.

Update October 23, 2018: I reread this book and did not remember it from 3 1/2 years ago. I LOVED it this round—And we hooie, hooie, hooie—so much that I raised my rating up from 3 to 5 stars and would do 6 if possible.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I appreciate Krauss' unique voice and Sendak's legendary illustrative style, this book is just not engaging to me on several levels. I'm frequently distracted by the weirdness of the story (including a dead mouse in a coffin that the boy carries around) and the limited sketches instead of charmed by the premise of a boy who is embracing his imagination (as the "very special house" is his mind. I feel like I need to read Phil Nel in order to better appreciate this book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this book out of the library because of a more recently published book written by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Chris Appelhans. I always read book dedications - they sometimes are the best part of a book. Here is Emily's dedication. "A Greyhound, a Groundhog owes a debt of inspiration and rhythm to A Very Special House, by legendary children’s author Ruth Krauss. It's for her, though I never met her, as a thanks."

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the format for this book, the way the illustrations were crawling up the page and all around, but I didn't care for the story itself. A decent book, but not one I'm going to read again.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2008...

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved this book, and both my kids loved to have this read to them. It is a very fun, whimsical book, with simple, yet entertaining illustrations. It demonstrates that illustrations do not need to be complex to be effective, and that even a silly story with silly drawings can be a classic.

[Brittney Warf · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Very Special House is a story about a boys vivid imagination. This story is base off of a house that the boy made up in his head and he goes on this great adventure with all these different animals. This story was great! It reminded me of my childhood and all of the things I used to imagine myself.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Caldecott Honor Award winner, but one that definitely didn't age well. The text is dumb and not something I'd ever want to read aloud. The art is okay but it's clearly the same exact art that the artist uses elsewhere, which kind of feels like plagiarism though this is almost certainly the early version. Not exactly bad, but I expect more.

[Miriah Mascetta · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book got a Caldecott Honor in 1954. This book was ok.. was not my favorite but it was okay. It was just kind of boring. He like had this special house in his mind where all these different animals were invited and it rhymed sometimes! the stuff he was saying. I would never want to read this aloud to my class, but the could read it as a SSR.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Talent comes in peaks and valleys, I guess, and this is valley for Sendak and Krauss. It's long on longness, and short on anything interesting. I suppose there is some sort of Harold and the purple crayon going on here, but the crayon in this case is a mustard yellow of incredible ugliness and produces passable cocktail napkin doodles. But not much story. Too bad.

[Ashlee Reed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Age: Primary (K-2nd)
Genre: Contemporary Realistic

I did not like this book. At all. There was no point it was random and I will not recommend. I picked it up for the award on the front and was highly disappointed. Even had my sister read it and she was like, "What? This was dumb." Not our taste I suppose.