SOLVED. Children's book read in the '90s about uncleaned house that comes to life [s]

[Angela]

Hi - I'm looking for the title of a book I read when I was a kid in the '90s about a boy or girl who is supposed to clean his/her room/house, but doesn't. Then various household items start to anthropomorphize / come to life, possibly including the bed, door knob, laundry basket, toilet - and then the entire house. The house is upset that it isn't cleaned. That's about all I can remember. Please help!

[Angela]

Was probably part of a collection (like Children's Choice Book Club or Scholastic). Have checked numerous lists, but still no luck!

[Hilary]

I have a book that is a collection of stories. I think the title is called The Richest Sparrow in the World - don't have the book to hand. One of the stories is called ' Dirty Margaret'. This is about a girl who lives in a cottage in the country and the house gets fed up that she is lazy and the furniture , pots and bed march out of the house and scrubbing brushes work themselves and clean everything up including Margaret. She is really pleased with the result and keeps it clean after that. Sounds similar, let me know if you need the publisher of this book and I will find it.

[Hilary]

Just looked, this book isn't on goodreads but when I googled it lots came up. Its called The Richest Sparrow in the World and other stories published by Hamlyn. ISBN 0 600 37567 6. Have just found my copy. It's a lovely story, beautiful illustrations, one of my favourites from childhood.

[Fjóla]

I remember a book with a plot like this: the furniture, every household object, and ultimately the house itself, sneaks off during night, because so disgusted by the filth. They eventually help the girl come to her senses.

The story I remember is long out of print, but it was drawn from an animated movie by czech artists. I found a copy on the german amazon site, check it out as it has some pictures uploaded from the book. The pictures were very fascinating and memorable, even down to the beautiful endpapers. Hope this is what you were looking for. You can also see a picture spread from this book here.

[Fjóla]

I actually checked, and the book mentioned by Hilary here above contains the very same story I alluded to. It exists on Amazon. The illustrator also has the german version of that book listed here on Goodreads, namely Vom reichsten Spatz der Welt.

[Hilary]

Yes, this is in the book I have. Really exceptional illustrations. Love the part where even the house peels itself up from the ground to leave ! When I was very young this was my favourite story. I was too young to read and had no one who would read to me, but the illustrations were enough to tell the story alone.

[Angela]

Wonderful!!! Thank you both so much! I *feel* like I had a US/more modern version of the story, but that could just be my memory distorting itself. This is (nearly?) exactly what I was looking for!!

[Angela]

FYI - I found the book while visiting my mother this past week. It was "The House that Had Enough" - a Big Golden Book. It is available on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/House-Enough-L...The House That Had Enough

Thanks for the helpful comments and for introducing me to a new book.