The physical world of a child is relatively small: home, park, school, and the homes of friends and relatives. However, an active imagination provides ample opportunity for dreaming up far-flung realms and exciting new adventures. Montreal author-illustrator Marianne Dubuc mimics this marvellous childhood ability in her first picture book translated into English.

The concept is simple, but that’s why it works so well. As the title suggests, readers are taken on a journey that begins outside a little house on a hill. We travel from the rose bush just outside the door, up to a child’s room, under the bed (where there is “Whew! Nothing at all!”), then into a fairy-tale world and up to the stars, eventually ending up back at the house where it all began. The circular structure effectively mirrors a child’s ability to reach out to the farthest extremes of the imagination while still holding on tightly to the safety of home.

Dubuc’s pencil-crayon illustrations are charming and almost childlike. Most pages contain a single image accompanied by a few words, but Dubuc is playful in both her use of colour and text design, throwing in the occasional busy sequence to shake things up. The text itself is light in tone and frequently humorous, with a gentle cadence that is easy to follow.

At 120 pages, In Front of My House is quite long for a picture book, but the combination of simple text, bold illustrations, and plenty of white space means it should be manageable for most young children. This is a lovely book that will encourage kids to explore the infinite possibilities beyond their own small worlds.