The House on the Canal: The Story of the House that Hid Anne Frank

A house reveals the story of its inhabitants, including Anne Frank—and honors four centuries of history—in a moving and exquisitely illustrated picture book from the creators of The House by the Lake.

In the middle of Amsterdam is a house on a canal with a green door. Over four hundred years, it has quietly witnessed love, desperation, and historic change. Sometimes the narrow house was splendidly decorated, humming with life and love; other times, it stood empty, in near ruins. Sometimes the green door was open and inviting; other times, it was closed against cold and plague or to conceal the victims of wartime persecution. The house’s last occupant, a young girl with a sweet smile, would famously document her time there. In her diary, Anne Frank wrote of “the old house on the canal,” and today people come from far and wide to visit what stands as a universal symbol of hope and resilience. Thomas Harding’s lyrical text and concise back matter reveal history through the changing face and fortunes of a remarkable structure. Impeccably researched, Britta Teckentrup’s dreamy mixed-media collages, including a map and archival imagery, perfectly echo the layered narrative and capture the ethereal nature of time and circumstance.

Thomas Harding is the author of the Kate Greenaway Award long-list selection The House by the Lake, illustrated by Britta Teckentrup. A journalist who has written for the Financial Times, the Sunday Times (London), the Washington Post, and the Guardian, among other publications, he also cofounded a television station in Oxford, England, and is an award-winning documentary maker. Thomas Harding lives in England with his family.

Britta Teckentrup’s strikingly beautiful picture books have been published in more than twenty countries. She illustrated The House by the Lake, also by Thomas Harding, which was long-listed for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Born in Hamburg and educated in London at Central Saint Martin’s and the Royal College of Art, she now lives with her family in Berlin.