Mr. Rusty's New House (Tales from Fern Hollow)

When his house becomes run-down beyond repair and is finnished off by a flash flood, Mr. Rusty recives help from The Prickles family, and the rest of Fern Hollow. They pitch in to build him a new house which looks really nice. The town furniture maker Mr. Chips also donates a wheelbarow full of new furniture, and their friends give bits and pieces from their own homes (which unexplainably are not flooded). Despite the implausabilities throughout this story (Mr. Rusty and his family are the only flood victims, and his train conductor job did not provide any assistance for bad events like this!) it is a charming tale of friendship and community support. I also like the detail to drawings, my family has kept these books many years after I outgrew them specifically because of the quality illustrations.