One of a number of children's books featuring the artwork of Swedish painter Carl Larsson - see also: A Farm and A Family - with text (based upon Larsson's own recollections) by Lennart Rudström, this lovely title explores the world of Little Hyttnäs, Larsson's summer home in the countryside. Documenting the gorgeous domestic painting that Larsson did - his groundbreaking style, in painting the rooms and furniture in his house had a great influence on matters of interior design - as well as the life of his family at Little Hyttnäs, the paintings here are paired with informative textual blurbs that give more details about the subjects being presented.

The second of these children's titles I have thus far read - I'm a little puzzled by the claim made by a fellow reviewer, that these aren't children's books, as the text on the back cover explicitly notes that Lennart Rudström wrote them for children - A Home is (naturally) immensely appealing on a visual level, as well as being most informative. I've been an admirer of Larsson's work since first I saw it, at the National Museum in Stockholm, and would love to visit Little Hyttnäs some day, and see some of these scenes in person, so I was pretty much guaranteed to appreciate this one! In addition to the beautiful paintings, the text gives readers an idea of what country life would have been like for Larsson and his family, so many years ago. It is quite extensive, so this is not a picture-book I would recommend to very young children, but for those capable of getting through more challenging texts, who are interested in history and/or art, this would make a lovely gift! I think I need to track down the third picture-book in this series, A Family, as I feel sure I would appreciate it as much as the others. ( )