Alone on his lot, a sturdy little house has stood for as long as
anyone can remember, stoically weathering the storms. But one day, the
wind brings change.
One house, then another, is built off in the distance. Then a road is
paved through his field, and more and more houses appear all around. The
house closes his shutters to wait out this alarming development.
But in the dark, the house notices he is no longer pushed by the
snowdrifts or battered by spring storms. And when he peeks open a
shutter, he sees the house next door glowing with a golden light. Just
like his. Throwing open his shutters, he finds himself surrounded by a
diverse neighborhood of homes. Together, they look forward to seeing
what the wind will blow in next.
With great wit and an eye-popping use of cardboard, paint and fabric,
multimedia artist Claudine Crangle explores our fear of difference
through the viewpoint of a small country house beset by urbanization.
But not everything that's new is bad, as the little farmhouse learns in
this timely and hopeful picture book about embracing the changes in life
we can't control.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language
Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or
appeal to the senses.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3
Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and
challenges.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to
what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize
aspects of a character or setting)
