The House Next Door

In The House Next Door, a little farmhouse sits alone in a field withstanding the elements, season after season. One day the wind blew, and there was another house in the distance. The little farmhouse didn’t like this new house, and so it shuttered its windows and held firm against the wind. But new houses and roads kept arriving. Finally, the field is gone, replaced by houses. The little house peaks out the window and sees the light on in the house next door and is curious. In the morning, the sun is shining, and the little house looks out and sees a vista of houses of all shapes and sizes.

While the book is about urban sprawl, The House Next Door is also a metaphor for change and the idea of accepting change in one’s life. The wind acts as a character in the story and shifts from the harshest wind to a gentle breeze. We cannot control nature, and the wind metaphor works well within the story to convey change and how change can make us feel. Darkness and sunlight are also used in The House Next Door to demonstrate how we can deal with change and accept change into our lives. The illustrations are done in a collage style using recycled materials. Crangle’s houses look very real and make the reader want to reach out and touch them.

While young children may need prompting to consider the wind, darkness/sunlight, and the message of change in the book, The House Next Door would make a good read-aloud for children ages 4-10. The personification of the house and its feelings work well, and children can relate to the shy little farmhouse whose world is changing even though it does not want change. But perhaps in the end, change isn’t so bad after all.