The Little House.

BURTON, Virginia Lee.

$8,000.00

Item Number: 2325

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1942.

First edition of one of the rarest and most sought after children’s classics. Oblong quarto, original blue cloth. Near fine in an excellent unrestored dust jacket that shows a small chip to the crown of the spine and some light wear. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional example.

"Once upon a time there was a Little House way out in the country. She was a pretty Little House and she was strong and well built." So begins Virginia Lee Burton's The Little House, winner of the prestigious Caldecott Medal in 1943. "Taking her cue from her small sons, Aristides and Michael, Burton chose subjects that would intrigue children [including] Mary Ann, the steam shovel [Burton’s books] have heroes and heroines children can understand and enjoy, ingenious and satisfactory endings and lively illustrations. The books survive because they exhibit so effectively the elements most basic to children’s literature" (Silvey, 109-10).