The hidden house [book review]

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The hidden house [book review]

Hoopes, Helen

1998-02

Waddell, Martin. The Hidden House. Ilustrated by Angela Barrett. Candlewick, 1997. ISBN 0-7636-0335-X. $12.99. 32 pp. A Pre-3 PB Reviewed by Helen Hoopes For those of you who haven't had a chance to read the first edition of this little picture book (1990), this second edition will be a welcome treat. An old man, Bruno, is the sole owner of a little house. He is very lonely, so one day he makes three wooden dolls to keep him company: Maisie with a little knitting basket, Ralph with a garden spade, and Winnaker with a backpack. Sometimes Bruno just sits and holds them, and other times he places them on the window ledge so they can look out and watch him as he works in the garden. He realizes that they are just wooden dolls, but sometimes he talks to them and they seem to comfort him. Eventually, Bruno leaves, and the house is left alone with the dolls still sitting in the window. The vegetation takes over and completely surrounds the little house, and the dolls are”lonely.” Later, a man and his wife and their little daughter buy the house and “clear away the wildness.” The little girl finds the old dolls and paints their faces to make them look bright and new. And even though they are just dolls, they are “happy” again. Barrett's watercolor illustrations, all in lovely, old-fashioned pastels, create a soft feeling to surround the story. Not until the last page does she introduce vibrant colors that reflect the happiness that the dolls must “feel” living with a loving family, who work to make the hidden house an open, loving place. Little children will love the repetition, the wonder of the dolls, and the changes that occur when love comes to this hidden place.

[26] p. : col. ill. ; 20 x 24 cm.

Children's Book and Play Review, January / February 1998

Book review

Picture books

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Mountain West Digital Library

English

text

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