The House That Jack Built

by Randolph Caldecott (Author/Illustrator), Edmund Evans (Engraver), H.Y. Xiao (Editor/Translator)

One of a series of classic Victorian children's books by the British artist and author. Caldecott was the eponym of the Caldecott Medal and transformed the world of children's books in the Victorian era. He exercised his art chiefly in book illustrations, which were full of life, and instinct with a kindly, graceful humour. The stories and rhymes were all of his choosing and in some cases were written or added to by himself.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Poetry, Classics, Young Adult, Fiction, Art

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1878

About the author

Known chiefly for his book illustrations, Caldecott was a gifted artist respected by his contemporaries. The Caldecott Medal which is given out each year for the most distinguished children's picture book is named for him.

In 1877, Edmund Evans, who was a leading colour printer asked Caldecott for illustrations for two Christmas books. The results were The House that Jack Built and The Diverting History of John Gilpin, published in 1878.

It was Caldecott's health among other things which prompted his many winter trips to the Mediterranean and other warm climates. It was on such a tour in 1886 that he was taken ill again and died in St. Augustine, Florida, just before his 40th birthday.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randolph...

Sometimes his name is transcribed as Ralph Caldecott, for example on the book "The Babes in the Wood & The Elegy of the Mad Dog."

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading about Caldecott and how he inspired Beatrix Potter, I found a collection of his stories and I'm reading them.

This story is each new idea is added to what was before and it becomes a litany. It's like the woman who swallowed a fly. The artwork is some color and some line drawings. It is charming.

It's part of Randolph Caldecott's Picture Books as 9 stories and I enjoyed it. I don't think I'm going to show the kids as I don't know that they really appreciate a historical perspective yet. Maybe I'll change my mind. I was more curious about what the father of picture books was doing basically that gave us this form of entertainment.

[Serena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun and engaging for young children. It is like the Women who swallowed a fly.
Would recommend

[Shanna Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very nice rendition of the classic nursery rhyme, illustrated by the nineteenth-century children's book illustrator Randolph Caldecott (the 19th-century children's illustrator for whom the Caldecott award was named). There are more modern versions of the nursery rhyme, but this one captures visually the flavor and mood by portraying the words and characters in a cultural context that made sense when the rhyme originated. Modern children may not know much about the use of barley malt and the ways of cats stalking rats, but they can see these things portrayed as they really were in this beautiful book. A very nice addition to your nursery-rhyme collection, and the best version I have seen so far, although harder to find than those produced in recent years.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

We've all seen some version of this old nursery rhyme, but I'd never read the one illustrated by Randolph Caldecott. I love the beautiful illustrations and how they tell their own little story, separate from the poem itself.

[Mary Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a different edition, one I found in the Elementary School library. The illustrations are the same and they are wonderful. The poem is, about the cat who kills the rat and the cow who kills the dog is not one I would read to young children today.

[Julia Lanter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A not to be missed read-aloud classic.

[Tammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always found the story pretty dumb. Caldecott's illustrations were great.

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes:
read this to learn a bit of picture book history
illustrations are fantastic
haven't read it to a child yet but imagine it would be well-loved

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm rushing to my deadline of 150 books (it seemed doable: 3 a week), but I hadn't taken into account what happens when a handful of books are 600+ page behemoths. So as I slip behind schedule, I tuck in some picture books. I have 3 days to read 3 books, so here's one of them.

It's so replete with pictures, which is wonderful, but unfortunately one of them shows a dead dog. I know fairy tales and nursery rhymes have unpleasant events all the time, but in this case it's just the illustrations which have made the dog dead. Very dead. As in, its owner is sorrowfully digging its grave, as the little corpse lays there.

Other than that, the Kate Greenaway-ish (or would it be the other way around?) illustrations are charming, and it's easy to see why the well-known honour would be named for this fellow.

(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)

[Danielle Sales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este livro tem um valor histórico inestimável e, aqui no Brasil, foi publicado pela Ameli. A obra foi concebida originalmente na Inglaterra vitoriana, no século XIX, ilustrada e escrita por Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886). Um dos prêmios mais importantes da literatura infantil mundial tem o sobrenome desse autor, só para termos uma ideia da sua importância.

É um prato cheio para quem gosta de contos acumulativos, sem dúvida, mas também para todos aqueles que estudam história da literatura infantil, já que este livro foi um marco na história da publicação dos livros para crianças, por inaugurar o conceito de livro ilustrado.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The classic cumulative nursey rhyme "The House That Jack Built" accompanied by illustrations by Randolph Caldecott. This is considered one of the first picture books ever created. While books for children had been illustrated before, this is considered one of the first examples of a shorter 36 page book where the pictures were the focus. It was cool to read this milestone of children's literature.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun.

[Marcela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Raíces de libros de repetición.

Año: 1878
Nacionalidad: Inglés

[Kristal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This nursery rhyme still works for today’s kids, and the illustrations are very detailed. It’s so interesting to see what kids were reading 150 years ago!

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The old-fashioned version!

Read with my 8yo for the '1001 Children's Books to Read Before You Grow Up' list.

[Guilherme Semionato · Rating 3 out of 5]

São Paulo: ed. Amelì, 2023

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um livro acumulativo que gostei muito das ilustrações, mas a paginação poderia ter sido muito melhor, em alguns momentos quebrou o ritmo da história.

[Alvaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great illustrator 2

Another of Caldecott’s books with very simple tales nicely illustrated. Great stories we all grow up and enjoyed hearing our grandparents and parents tell.

[Paloma]

Read it cause it was mentioned in the short story "Merry Christmas" by Stephen Leacock. I don't remember reading/hearing about it in my childhood.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geezer writes classic British children's literature - geezer later on had Caldecott Medal named after him.