The Little, Little House (review)

In this retelling of a famous Eastern European folktale, a poor man called Joseph turns to the wise Aunty Bella for advice on what to do about his family's cramped living conditions. Bella advises Joseph to move the chickens inside the house, then the rooster, then the cow, then the goat; when her final advice, to "turn all the animals out of the house," is followed, Joseph finds himself surrounded by peace and quiet ("Our house is not so little, little after all"). It is not clear why Souhami changes the traditional rabbi figure to an aunt, and the text is spare. Audience interaction could be consequently encouraged, though, since details are often left to audience interpretation of the illustrations ("But THIS is what happened . . ." introduces each spread of enhanced chaos), and young viewers will find amusement in the antics of the animals (the chickens are especially entertaining). Unfortunately, the illustrations are more conceptually engaging than visually noteworthy, as the solid cut-paper collages are most often lacking dimensionality. Still, Souhami is able to convey a considerable range of emotions in the simple compositions, and the humor offers some compensation for the flat art. For a more striking interpretation of this tale, see Zemach's It Could Always Be Worse (BCCB 4/77), but you could keep this on hand for a quick and entertaining readaloud with a solid lesson tucked in. No source notes are provided.