Books like The Little House
By Virginia Lee Burton
The Little House just sits there and watches, season after season, until roads and buildings crowd in and she's not in the country anymore. Kids who've asked why a field became a parking lot get why she's sad. The books below are for that same quiet ache, and the comfort of things settling right again.
The house gives shelter until she's worn down to nothing. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein follows that same quiet ache, one tree, one boy, a whole lifetime.
Same slow, seasons-turning calm, but Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney sends its heroine off to see the world before she settles down to plant it.
The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen shares that heartwarming mood and the same heart for acceptance with The Little House.
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco has that same gentle, old-fashioned voice, but the transformation here happens to a toy loved into realness, not a house.
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell shares that heartwarming mood and the same lyrical read-aloud feel with The Little House.
Good for the toddler who loved watching the house's garden bloom each spring. Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert is just that part, stretched into a whole book.
The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin shares that heartwarming mood and the same heart for acceptance with The Little House.
The calm ending feels familiar, but Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak gets there through a wild rumpus instead of quiet seasons passing.
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon shares that heartwarming mood and the same heart for acceptance with The Little House.
The house never leaves her hill, but The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson sends its small hero out to see the whole world before coming home changed.
Where the house just quietly endures, The Bad Seed by Jory John lets its main character be genuinely grumpy before coming around.
You Are Special by Max Lucado shares that heartwarming mood and the same heart for acceptance with The Little House.
