CLANCY & MILLIE AND THE VERY FINE HOUSE

Fanciful and reassuring, this quietly charming Australian import examines universal experiences and emotions. Clancy, a young boy, has just moved from what appears to be a small-town setting to an imposing urban block. His parents, seemingly oblivious to his discomfort, extol the virtues of their large, modern new home while Clancy yearns for the cozy comfort of the familiar. Gleeson’s straightforward, child-centered text highlights this discrepancy in attitudes, contrasting the parents’ sweeping pronouncements about the new house with the repeated phrase, “Clancy remembers…” Blackwood’s softly scratchy  illustrations support the text, pairing large, empty, monochromatic rooms as Clancy views them with small, colorful images he remembers from home, varying perspective effectively to communicate mood. Before Clancy (and readers) can get too distressed, however, the action moves outside, where Clancy finds a new friend. Absorbed in building towers, trains and fairy-tale houses from the empty packing boxes (the last game explaining the otherwise bewildering pig-shaped clouds on the cover), Clancy clearly begins to feel more at home. Cozy and sweetly empathetic. (Picture book. 5-8)