We Were Tired of Living in a House by Liesel Moak Skorpen & Illus by Doris Burn

This book is so awesome! As I was walking out of a library sale, they had a stack of free books in the hall. So I put my large bags of books down to dig through the free books. Really, I have no shame when it comes to book acquisition. 

Aren't these berries so nicely red?

The words are super, but the pictures really make the story. Apparently they republished this book with new illustrations and it just can't compare. Good illustrations are pretty much timeless.

We were tired of living in a house.

Oh, I can sympathize! It has been hot and humid here and I think all our tempers are hanging by a thread. Cranky kids are no joke. 

To be honest, neither is a cranky Mummy. 

So they packed everything up and moved out. 

First, they headed to their favorite tree. 

 

I love how the kids do everything together. They might be a bit cranky and annoyed at their parents, but they stick together. 

They made quite a cozy home in their tree. 

But trees have wind.

So we packed our bag with

 sweaters and socks and scarves and mittens

 and scarlet leaves and gold. 

Clearly they believe any running away situation is made better by a good stock of knitwear. 

They moved to the pond. Which was better all around because you could fish. And their were fog friends.

....but then they sank.

So they packed everything up, including

...a frog who was a particular friend. 

Next stop was a cave.

Another fantastic dwelling. 

(I wonder if any of these kids went into architect or home design when they grew up... They had a knack.)

They were not the only cave dwellers. 

 So we packed our bag with sweaters and socks

and scarlet leaves and gold

and a frog who was a particular friend

and precious stones that caught and held the sun.

I love these kids. And the fact that they are discarding knitwear to make room for important souvenirs.

Next stop--the sea. Can't you feel that sea breeze? I wish I could at the moment...

The sea has sand. And sand makes castles.

Buuuut the sea has tides. 

So we packed our bag with sweaters

and scarlet leaves and gold

and a frog who was a particular friend

and precious stones that caught and held the sun

and seashells signing like the surf. 

Oh my word, I love this book! Those descriptions are so magnificent!

And they went home. 

We all need a break sometime. A break makes delightful reunions possible. 

Happy sigh! This book really hit home this week.