The House Takes a Vacation (review)

"When the Petersons left for vacation, their house decided to go on holiday, too." After some discussion between components (the windows want to meet the houses they face, the roof wants to get out of the neighborhood, and the front door doesn't care where they go as long as it leads the way), they decide to go to the sea; there the house takes a dip, gets swept away, and struggles damply back to shore, after which it heads squishily home. The plot is somewhat haphazard, especially in the house's varying response to the sea, and there's not much in the way of climactic action; nonetheless, this is an enjoyably silly notion, and the characterization of the different parts of the house adds another dimension of humor. White builds his house (and its background) out of oils and colored pencil, animating its elements with lively cartoon eyes and mouths to make faces out of architectural components. While youngsters may find the story a bit puzzling in places, the notion of a lively and quarrelsome house on the go and the surprised homeowners returning to their soggy abode could add a new storey to humorous holiday tales.