Windows
Author: Julia Denos; Illustrator: E. B. Goodale
Published: October 17, 2017 by Candlewick
Goodreads Summary: Walking his dog at dusk, one boy catches glimpses of the lives around him in this lovely ode to autumn evenings, exploring your neighborhood, and coming home.
Before your city goes to sleep, you might head out for a walk, your dog at your side as you go out the door and into the almost-night. Anything can happen on such a walk: you might pass a cat, or a friend, or even an early raccoon. And as you go down your street and around the corner, the windows around you light up one by one until you are walking through a maze of paper lanterns, each one granting you a brief, glowing snapshot of your neighbors as families come together and folks settle in for the night. With a setting that feels both specific and universal and a story full of homages to The Snowy Day, Julia Denos and E. B. Goodale have created a singular book — at once about the idea of home and the magic of curiosity, but also about how a sense of safety and belonging is something to which every child is entitled.
My Review: This quiet book captured my heart. My husband used to live in Somerville, and this text beautifully captures the beauty of the city—and the beauty of many cities. I love the way that the author and illustrator reveal that peaking into windows allows us to view a slice of someone else’s world. We don’t see their entire world, but we see the sliver that they allow us to see. This book reminds us to pause and look around us. I am saving this book to give to my son for his birthday because I know he will love it. It’s a book that any person of any age will appreciate.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Teachers might start by asking students to draw a window and the people inside of it. Then, students could move to writing about that family. Perhaps, the window reflects the beauty of those individuals’ world, or perhaps, it doesn’t show the truth. I love the possibilities that this book allows for teachers.
Discussion Questions: What would a window to your house look like? How might each room appear a bit different?; What do we see through the windows of others? What might we miss?
We Flagged:
Read This If You Loved: Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña; Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, A Bus Called Heaven by Bob Graham, Harlem by Walter Dean Myers
Recommended For:
**Thank you to Candlewick for providing a copy for review!**
It is one to savor and re-read. I loved this book, Ricki, glad you like it too! This time of year when my granddaughters visit and I take them home after dinner, we look into windows to find the Christmas trees, and sometimes we see people!