Once upon a time, a little pretty house was built on a hill in the country. It was a strong and well built. The man who built it said, “This Little House will live to see our great-great-grandchildren’s great-great-grandchildren living in it.”
The Little House had lived happily for a long time. It had enjoyed watching the natures and people around it in all seasons. However, the land development had begun around the house. A big road was built and cars took the place of the carriages pulled by horses. Many houses were built, then they were reconstructed the buildings.
Before long, trolley cars began to run, and the elevated railroad was constructed. At last, the subway began to run underneath the Little House. The buildings around the Little House grew higher and higher, and the house was left all alone and felt lonely. It could not see well the sky, to say nothing of trees or flowers. People were too busy to notice it.
One day, the great-great-granddaughter of the man who built the Little House saw the house. She said to her husband, “That Little House looks just like the Little House my grandmother lived in when she was a little girl.” Later, they found out it was the very same house. They decided to move it to the country side. They looked for the place where the house used to be built, and at last they found. The house was repaired, and lived happily with the nature as before.
Felling
This story was written by Virginia Lee Burton. She also drew illustrations.
In the early pages, the scenery of the seasons around the Little House is expressed by the sentences like a poem. We can enjoy the changes of the seasons with the sentences and the colorful illustrations. After that, we have to see how the neighborhood of the Little House has changed. I felt choking and became sad as the Little House did. I was quite relieved and happy when the Little House was moved to the peaceful place in country.
This book seems to be a story for adults. My mother says, “When I read in my childhood, I thought it was just a story. But I was very impressed when I read it again later. This is one of my favorite picture books.” People made land development for their convenience. But it often leads to environmental destruction. In addition, people are losing their hearts by getting convenience, I think. In this book, the people who live in the country look happier than the people who live in the city. Most of people feel comfortable when they see beautiful trees or flowers. There are quite a few people who want to live in the suburbs after their retirement. I suppose that the reasons why this book is popular among the adults is the dream to live in the house like the Little House is common to all of us.
(494 words / total 6459 words)
