A Very Special House

Ruth Krauss (1953), 32 pages

Audience: toddlers, pre-K

Format: picture book

This a story of a very special house,

“I know a house –

it’s not a squirrel house

it’s not a donkey house

– it’s not a house you’d see –

and it’s not in any street

and it’s not in any road –

oh it’s just a house for me Me ME.”

Step inside a little boy’s day dreamy world … and what will you find? A turtle, a rabbit, a lion eating chairs, some monkeys, some snunkeys, and more! Children’s books are unique; they are sometime silly, strange, even absurd – a total departure from ordinary adult literature. Here in lies the beauty, literature written for children is imaginative and fantastical. These books give readers a chance to get into character, act out, create noise, stay creative, and be ridiculous. A Very Special House takes full advantage of all those aforementioned aspects of storytelling resulting in a charismatic story from start to finish. Krauss’s text begs to be read a-loud with its funky poetic cadence, nonsensical words, run-on sentences, and rhymes. Exuding charm throughout, both author and illustrator produced a story full of whimsical details. Sendak’s illustrations are captivating and sweet; almost as through drawn straight from one’s own imagination ... delicate black line drawings dance around the page while only the little boy is blocked in color. Using his limited palette and creative genius Sendak captures a child’s jubilant and imaginative nature. Reissued in 2001 by HarperCollins, this 1954 Caldecott honoree is now readily available making it possible for more children to curl up with this classic storybook!

Reviewed by: Katharine Quinn, SJSU MLIS Student

If you liked this book, you may like: The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson or I Want to Paint My Bathroom Blue by Ruth Krauss and Maurice Sendak

Other books by this author: Goodnight Goodnight Sleepyhead, The Happy Egg, And I Love You, Big & Little, and Open House for Butterflies