SINCE 1920

The story of what's happened to one neighborhood since a first couple moved out from the city 70+ years ago in order to build a new house on a piece of farm land . Wallner's stylized, decorative illustrations are clean and cheery, and include many authentic details relating to the passage of time: the introduction of electricity and modern plumbing; changes in auto design, costumes, and architecture. The focus is on the neighborhood, which becomes a thriving commercial center that deteriorates in the 60's and is reclaimed as a residential area and park in the 80's (at which time dark faces first appear). Unexceptional but attractive and useful—the final events take the story beyond the usual The Little House conclusion. (Picture book. 4-8)