The Little House

Title: The Little House

Author: Virginia Lee Burton

Illustrator: Garth Williams

Summary: THe little house is a story about a house who lived in the country. She had always wondered what it would be like to live in a city. Slowly but surely the city came to her and because of over population and the growth of the city, the little house found herself right in the middle of the big city. After becoming depressed the little house is found by her builders great great grandchild, and she is moved back to the country side.

     I think this story is a lovely story that can be shared with children of all ages. The illustations are what makes the story for me. My favorite part of the story is the picture of the house. If you look at each picture carefully you can notice that in the beginning of the story, the houses stairs look a little bit like a smile, with her windows being the eyes and her door as her nose. As the story progresses you can feel and see the house becoming upset about her new found home in the city. I love the caracters in this story especially the city. The city becomes its own character as all of the subways, trains, cars, roads and skyscrapers are added to it. There is an amazing emotional connection that one feels when reading the story. I think my emotional attachment was to the house itself, but I was also attached to the original builder of the house. The builder was so adamant on his house staying in the family, and never being sold. When the house ends up in the city broken down and forgoten, I am not only sad for the house, but for the legand that the house was supposed to become. The end of the story gives the reader a sense of satisfaction. We can finally see the house back in its proper location with a loving family living inside.