The House Next Door

Written and illustrated by Claudine Crangle

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-368-3

44 pp.

Ages 3-6

August 2021 

 

This is the story of a house, one house in an open field of long grasses. It stands alone but secure, standing its ground, whatever the winds and snows and rain may blow in. But when other houses blow in, how will the house respond?

From The House Next Door by Claudine Crangle

When the little red-roofed house with a red door and blue shutters first notices two other houses, far off but in his periphery, he ensures the back and side shutters are bolted tight so that only his grassy land is visible.

From The House Next Door by Claudine Crangle

Putting on those domestic blinders does work for a number of years but then the construction of a road tears a gash through the middle of his field. 

Soon they began moving in.

They lined up along the road.

And the road began branching into more

roads.

And more of them arrived.
Row upon row of blank faces stared back at the little house.

The suburbs had arrived and were upon his doorstep with their countless faceless houses. His response? He shuts his front shutters and waits in the dark.

From The House Next Door by Claudine Crangle

Occasionally he peeks outside but all he sees are more and more of those anonymous structures. So the house stays dark and still. After winter and spring pass into summer, he sees something a little different when he glances outside. He sees some colour and even a yellow house with a curtain waving out of an open window. In the dark the curtains reveal a golden light within. This is all it takes for the little house to open its shutters the next day to uncover a real neighbourhood of diverse homes.

 

Toronto author-illustrator Claudine Crangle's story of urban sprawl changing the landscape is really an allegory about shuttering oneself off from change and opening oneself to new possibilities. Though living harmoniously with others around you is not always easy (I was reminded of Norman McLaren's 1952 NFB short film "Neighbours"), perhaps what was worse for the little house was change. He did not know what to expect having never had neighbours and, rather than adapt, he shuts himself off. A little courage and recognition of the familiar help him feel safe enough to open the door, or rather the shutters, to the unfamiliar and see brightness where only anonymity once was.

 

The illustrations were created with paint and a variety of materials including cardboard and paper but also found objects and those scavenged from recycling bins. There's asphalt shingles, fabric and red wooden discs. By bringing life from waste, Claudine Crangle lets her artwork further the idea that there can be beauty and hope in the unlikeliest of places.

 

I know that The House Next Door is recommended for ages 3 to 6, undoubtedly because of its ease of readability, but I hope that parents and teachers will see the value in reading this book with older children. There's an important lesson here for all about anticipating the worse because it's different or unexpected to only discover that the worry is often worse than the reality.