The Little House

In my opinion (and many other people’s), one of the greatest picture-books ever is The Little House, written and illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton. It won the Caldecott Award back in 1943, and rightfully so. The book revolves around the concept of urban sprawl, as the house starts off in the country and eventually watches the city grow around it. The house loses it’s identity in the business of the city, and eventually they move the house back out to the country where it once again feels right where it belongs. Burton’s illustrations are as perfectly fitting as possible, as she leaves the house in the center of the page’s composition throughout the entire story.

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