(4) K-3 Illustrated by Peter Rankin. A man builds a modest house, figuring, "This is all I need." Then he marries, and his lovingly demanding wife gets him to make the house bigger, then still bigger as their relatives move in, until all the couple needs is "to retire." Based on a nineteenth-century Nova Scotia family's story, this engaging book has fine period details and lively but dark oil paintings.

Reviewer: Nell Beram