A Very Special House (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Maurice Sendak (Illustrator) "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..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Now in its second season, HarperCollins's reissue of 22 Sendak classics continues. This time, his collaborations with Ruth Krauss take center stage. In Charlotte and the White Horse, first published in 1955, creamy pages frame Sendak's softly lit illustrations of a girl who convinces her father to keep a wobbly legged horse and cares for him until he can stand on his own. Sendak's delicate watercolors suit the dream-like mood of a boy who accomplishes all that he sets out to do in his imaginary world, in I Want to Paint My Bathroom Blue (1956), also by Krauss. A boy's imagination also comes to the fore in A Very Special House (1953) by Krauss, as the artist depicts the hero creating a home filled with a turtle, a giant, a very old lion and "some monkeys and some skunkeys." Oversize pages brim with the creatures as well as his house's "very special" furnishings. Open House for Butterflies (1960) takes a similar format to these collaborators' classic A Hole Is to Dig, and lastly, Hector Protector and As I Went Over the Water: Two Nursery Rhymes (1965) by Sendak conveys as much plot through the artist's wordless spreads as with the minimal text. For collectors and budding readers alike. Nov.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Most, most special indeed! What fun! Sheer nonsense in text and pictures, the inimitable drawings of Mr. Sendak. -- Saturday Review

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (November 13, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060286385
• ISBN-13: 978-0060286385
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #186,163 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm getting one for every child I know, March 29, 2000

By	Niloc Regne - See all my reviews

This review is from: Very Special House (Library Binding)

This book came to our family as a hand-me-down from a neighbor for my 2-year-old son, and now we can't live with out it. The rhymes are so witty, entertaining and infectious that I can't tell people about the book without quoting verbatim. Krauss's playful use of language is eternally endearing and Sendaks quirky illustrations of chair-chomping lions and clumsy giants are a treasure. I had feared that this book would be out of print. Now that I have found it, I am buying it for every child (and parent) I know starting with my three-year-old nephew.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Children's Book Ever!, February 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Very Special House (Library Binding)

I LOVED this book as a child, so much that I asked for a copy as a birthday gift as an adult. This is the most visually entertaining, linguistically exciting, playful and joyful story I ever read in a children's book. Sendak's simple illustrations are profoundly expressive and appropriate for Kraus' self-indugent imaginary escapade. Yes, to most people it probably seems a little bit weird, but if you have an imaginitive child in your life....BUY HIM OR HER THIS BOOK!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More More More! More More More!, April 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Very Special House (Library Binding)

...and it's just a house for me me me
At first reading, somewhat bizarre. So read it twice! It grows on you; it grew into our favorite children's book. It screams to be read aloud; the rhymes aren't Seuss-ly annoying, and the rhythms are interesting.
"...they and I are making music
and we're falling over laughing"
The simple illustrations (Sendak, I think?) are great. Krauss's expressions of child-ego are true-to-my-memory, and rang bells with my kids. I could not afford books back then; fortunately our children's librarian had my taste in books (I don't recall any Berenstain Bears!); but this was one book I HAD TO OWN. It makes a very JOYFUL noise. Read it, then find a copy of Pete Seeger's or Woody Guthries' folk songs for kids... a perfect hour.