Virginia Lee Burton won the Caldecott Medal in 1943 for her memorable picture book The Little House, a poignant story of a cute country cottage that becomes engulfed by the city that grows up around it. The house has an expressive face of windows and doors, and even the feelings of a person, so she’s sad when she’s surrounded by the dirty, noisy city’s hustle and bustle: “She missed the field of daisies / and the apple trees dancing in the moonlight.” Fortunately, there’s a happy ending, as the house is taken back to the country where she belongs.

In comic-strip format, this action-packed western drama is complete with cattle rustling and kidnapping, a stampede, a holdup, and a thrilling chase. From start to bang-up finish, Calico the Wonder Horse outruns and outsmarts the double-dyed villains -- and, of course, saves the day!

Best known for the ever popular Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and the Caldecott Medal winner The Little House, Virginia Lee Burton wrote and illustrated stories that have been entertaining children, parents, and grandparents for more than sixty years. Many of her books—with themes that honor a simple way of life and celebrate heroes who endure through determination and by adapting to change—have become classic American tales. With an introduction by Barbara Elleman, author of Virginia Lee Burton: A Life in Art,this handsome collection commemorates four of Burton’s most popular stories, each featured complete and unabridged. Their appeal today, as strong as when the books were first published, is a tribute to one of America’s most innovative illustrators, designers, and writers of stories for children.

The adventures of a beautiful little locomotive who decided to run away from her humdrum duties.

Best known for the ever popular Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and the Caldecott Medal winner The Little House, Virginia Lee Burton wrote and illustrated stories that have been entertaining children, parents, and grandparents for more than sixty years. Many of her books—with themes that honor a simple way of life and celebrate heroes who endure through determination and by adapting to change—have become classic American tales. With an introduction by Barbara Elleman, author of Virginia Lee Burton: A Life in Art,this handsome collection commemorates four of Burton's most popular stories, each featured complete and unabridged. Their appeal today, as strong as when the books were first published, is a tribute to one of America's most innovative illustrators, designers, and writers of stories for children.