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Crangle, Claudine

The House Next Door

40 pp. | Groundwood | August, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-1-77306-368-3 $19.99
(2) K-3 A remote farmhouse survives the seasons alone, closing its back shutters against the strongest winds. When a new house is built nearby, the house shutters that side of itself, too, the better to ignore the interloper. As more homes are built--an entire neighborhood, in fact--our solitary protagonist shuts itself off entirely. Eventually, though, it realizes that the surrounding dwellings are providing it shelter, with their presence protecting against snowdrifts and harsh winds. Even better, warm light comes from the windows at night, and friendly curtains flutter. The house discovers that the new neighbors are "big and small, beautiful, strange, solid, cobbled, high, low, narrow, wide, elegant and fascinating." Crangle's dramatic illustrations effectively convey the original dwelling's isolation as it sits small and square in one corner of a double-page spread. Wide, dark shadows fall across the pages as it fears the changes in its environment; as it discovers the good in its new surroundings, the house's emotional shifts are reflected in light-filled, bright-colored pages. Each house is a three-dimensional creation made from cardboard, paper, fabric, and wood, with alluring textures and colors. This is a child-friendly, approachable, and useful story that can serve as a springboard for conversations about fear of change--and the embrace of it.
Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

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