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What the wind told
The wind discusses the people and creatures living behind six different windows.
43 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
42 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 20, 2016
A little girl (named "Tossy" for some reason) is sick in bed and the wind tells her stories, ridiculous ones, about the people in the building opposite, based on how their windows look. The stories are arranged in mini-chapters. I didn't find them very interesting -- they are imaginative but the writing is kind of flat. Might be good for the reading level that is transitioning from picture books to longer ones.
Here's an example of one of the stories: Tossy asks about the potted plants on a window sill and the wind says they are the children of some plant people who live in that apartment. They don't have tv but listen to gardening shows on the radio. That's pretty much it for the story.
Here's an example of one of the stories: Tossy asks about the potted plants on a window sill and the wind says they are the children of some plant people who live in that apartment. They don't have tv but listen to gardening shows on the radio. That's pretty much it for the story.
March 13, 2018
My favorite picture book as a child, What the Wind Told is about a little girl named Tossy who spends a week of sick days listening to stories told to her by the Wind. The book is separated into six chapters in which the Wind tells Tossy who lives inside each of the mysterious windows Tossy can see from her urban bedroom.
The book’s haunting illustrations are by American artist Emanuel Schongut, best known for his work in speculative fiction and still working today. Schongut’s watercolors pay homage to the flat styling of the art deco movement in the ’20s and ’30s and light up the pages with imaginative details. I don’t know, but I suspect that Tossy’s name is also a throwback to early, dreamlike stories like Little Nemo in Slumberland.
Writer Boegehold is acerbic and unsympathetic to your problems; that must have been why I loved her books so much. Consider the plant family behind the second window: The Wind would like Tossy to mind her own damn business.
As much as I love this book, my daughter is terrified of it and there are two reasons why. The first is the owner of the fourth window, the dog man who eats his own words. Somewhere between dog and man, he lives with his typewriter in an uncanny valley that’s a lot less cute than Zootopia.
The other reason is the “Scary Window,” owned by Drool and Gool. They’re frightened by children and live in the dark, hiding under furniture in the middle of their room. Knowing they’re cowardly doesn’t change the fact that they look like demons from the depths of cartoon Hell. They frightened me when I was little, but I liked being frightened. The final story soothes over the goblin-shaped scars with the most beautiful imagery in the book.
This book is out of print but the demand for existing copies is so high, even used and damaged copies go for over forty dollars. If you find one at an antique store, grab it!
The book’s haunting illustrations are by American artist Emanuel Schongut, best known for his work in speculative fiction and still working today. Schongut’s watercolors pay homage to the flat styling of the art deco movement in the ’20s and ’30s and light up the pages with imaginative details. I don’t know, but I suspect that Tossy’s name is also a throwback to early, dreamlike stories like Little Nemo in Slumberland.
Writer Boegehold is acerbic and unsympathetic to your problems; that must have been why I loved her books so much. Consider the plant family behind the second window: The Wind would like Tossy to mind her own damn business.
As much as I love this book, my daughter is terrified of it and there are two reasons why. The first is the owner of the fourth window, the dog man who eats his own words. Somewhere between dog and man, he lives with his typewriter in an uncanny valley that’s a lot less cute than Zootopia.
The other reason is the “Scary Window,” owned by Drool and Gool. They’re frightened by children and live in the dark, hiding under furniture in the middle of their room. Knowing they’re cowardly doesn’t change the fact that they look like demons from the depths of cartoon Hell. They frightened me when I was little, but I liked being frightened. The final story soothes over the goblin-shaped scars with the most beautiful imagery in the book.
This book is out of print but the demand for existing copies is so high, even used and damaged copies go for over forty dollars. If you find one at an antique store, grab it!
November 29, 2015
who says only kids can read "kid books" i love this one and enjoy it over again. fun read
August 18, 2012
Another childhood favorite!
September 29, 2014
I read this many years ago and found it referred to by name on a blog today (September 28, 2014). Wow. A good, thoughtful, book.
February 3, 2024
I've been looking for this book for years, after somebody shared that it was a childhood book they remembered but couldn't recall the name of. I liked the description and then have had it in my head for years and years. Since 2015 or 2016, and it's now 2024. It is a very unique book with some interesting images and almost surreal ideas.
January 16, 2023
A super trippy little book !
I grew up just looking at the pics and reading the stories in this book , now that I am of age... Wow... Short but SWEEEET !
Super rare book .
Written and Illustrated in the 70's
They all knew how to relax and dream back then... 😙🤗
I grew up just looking at the pics and reading the stories in this book , now that I am of age... Wow... Short but SWEEEET !
Super rare book .
Written and Illustrated in the 70's
They all knew how to relax and dream back then... 😙🤗
August 16, 2025
I recall owning this but didn’t remember the plot, but it was quite good.
April 17, 2009
Another still in my collection from my childhood
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews