the little house by virginia lee burton summary

Perfect for: Kids who like fantasy stories.įind The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum at your local library. And, with characters that look like dolls, dolls that look like porcelain figures from a Dali painting, strange toys, and hazy dream-like colors sparked here and there with a magical light, Bernheimer and Ceccoli have created a mesmerizing fantasy world that is both uniquely surreal, yet comfortingly real and loving. Much like the Escher-like stairways of the illustrations, the three worlds intersect and blend into an unexpected story. Burton tells the story of a Little House who happily shelters the family who built her until she is eventually abandoned and falls into a state of disrepair.

She even dreams of the reader, who is, in the end, invited to leave his/her picture above the girl’s bed inside the castle, inside the glass case, inside the museum, inside the book that the reader is holding. Written in 1942, it is a true classic when still used in classrooms nearly seventy years later Brief summary of the text: This ageless story is about a house that is built on the beautiful countryside that slowly, over the passage of time, becomes centered and forgotten in a big city. Yet as the story unfolds, the reader learns that the girl in the castle misses the children when they leave the museum and dreams of their return. The winner of the 1942 Caldecott Medal for THE LITTLE HOUSE, Burton’s books include heroes and happy endings, lively illustrations, and a dash of nostalgia. Inside the case, the girl in the castle, lonely in her turret, appears to be lost in a dreamlike trance. Virginia Lee Burton (1909-1968) was the talented author and illustrator of some of the most enduring books ever written for children.

The haunting scene of a wispy, wistful girl peering into the glass case on the cover starts the journey. This is a layered story that weaves in and out, up and down, to form a fascinating fantasy.

The little house by virginia lee burton summary