Thursday, April 17, 2014

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

Author Virginia Lee Burton wrote one of my favorite childhood books, The Little House.   I remember reading this book many times as a child and I had no idea that it was an "old" book back then.  The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton won the Caldecott Medal in 1943, years before I was even born.  And I believe that many more generations have loved and can in the future love this story.

What I enjoyed most about this book is the cute little house and the happiness she has when she lives in the country with a family living there taking care of her.  The man who built her was sure she would never be sold and that his great-great grandchildren would love her too.  She watched the countryside around her change as day followed day, season followed season, year after year.  At night she would watch the moon and stars.  Sometimes she would see the lights from the city and she wondered what it would be like in the city.  As the years passed by, she began to see more houses and horseless carriages where the green grass and the apple trees used to be.  There began to be more roads and more buildings crowding around the little house.  Nobody wanted to live in her or take care of her any longer.  At night, she could no longer see the moon or stars, but she did see the city lights.  She had learned what the city was like and she didn't like it.  For many years she was ignored and neglected as the world continued to crowd around her.  One day, a great-great granddaughter saw the little house and knew it was the home of her grandparents.  The girl decided she wanted the house moved the house back to the country.  Once again, the little house was happy.  She was well taken care of and she never wanted to return to the city.

After reading this story talk about how you take care of your home.  Do you think your house is as happy as The Little House?  Do you think houses long to be somewhere else?

Happy Daily Reading
Deanna

1 comment:

  1. For some reason, this story always reminds me of the house in Up.

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