Through My Window

by Tony Bradman, Eileen Browne (Illustrator)

Jo has a bit of fever, and would like both of her parents to stay home to care for her; sadly, her mom must go off to work. Jo spends a quiet day in the care of her stay-at-home father, waiting for Mom to return with a promised surprise. All day long Jo looks out the window waiting for Mom, and in the meantime she sees all her friends from the neighborhood — there goes the mailman, and there's the window cleaner, and Mrs. Ali from next door. But when will Mom be back with her surprise? This classic children's story sensitively portrays an ethnically diverse family and community, while Eileen Browne’s softly shaded art brings the endearing characters to life.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

TONY BRADMAN graduated from Cambridge University and worked in journalism for many years as an editor and reviewer. Now a full-time author, he has produced several successful anthologies for young readers for Random House Children's Books, including three focusing exclusively on football: the FOOTBALL FEVER titles.

Reviews

[Anjumanara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jo is ill and has to stay in bed for the day, but her mum promises to bring her home a surprise to make her feel better. Jo waits for her mum patiently all day long. She looks out of the window waiting for her mum to return, and in the meantime sees all her friends from the neighbourhood, including the postman, the window cleaner and Mrs Ali from next door. But when will Mum be back with her surprise for Jo? What will the surprise be? This is a very accessible text for young readers which many children can relate to as it is a familiar context that they identify with and also uses many high frequency words and simple sentences. It is full of childhood anticipation, imagination and excitement that keep children gripped right through to the end. ‘Knowledge and Understanding of the World’ aspect of the EYFS can be addressed; as it touches on people who help us in our community and the jobs that they do.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A multicultural picture book of a girl called Jo, who is ill one night and has to rest and stay indoors to get better soon. The next morning as she stays home with her father, her mother asks her to keep an eye out for when she gets back from work… Throughout the day as Jo hears footsteps outside, she assumes it’s her mother, only to find many of her friends passing by to say hello.

The story covers ideas of family, friendship and relationships with a diverse and multicultural community that Jo lives in. I felt it could be related to many children living in such diverse communities. Furthermore, the story can be brought into circle time to discuss ideas of belonging, community and friendship.

A story book I would recommend for pre school age and above.

[Hanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that the father is portrayed as the caregiver whilst the mother is the one having to work, as well as Jo in her white doctor's coat at the end. The repeating pattern of the story (Jo looking out the window, wondering if the person she hears is her mother) as well as the rich illustrations, encourages the reader to take part in looking for Jo's mother.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great at the time, now still kinda recommended to educators of those learning to read if they have access. Love that the father is the caregiver, and that the family is Black and lives in an interesting neighborhood. It does use words like 'flat' instead of apartment and it does have a milkman, fyi. Enjoyed on openlibrary.org.

[Allison Ster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jo is ill one day and her mother tell her to stay in bed and when she returns home she will have a surprise for Jo. All day long Jo is able to look out her window and see her friends and neighbors walk past. This book is a great one for children to be able to relate to.

[Nafisa Shabbir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jo is ill and has to stay in bed for the day, but her mum (a nurse) promises to bring her home a surprise to make her feel better. While her mother is out working her father stays at home to look after her.
All day long Jo looks out of the window waiting for her mum to return,
and in the meantime sees all her friends from the neighbourhood, including the postman, the window cleaner and Mrs Ali from next door.
This book is great in depicting mixed raced families as well as role reversal, for example the father stays at home while mother goes out to work.
The pictures also suggest that Jo lives on a council estate. One of the ways this book could be used is in a Geography lesson to compare and contrast city living to a rural setting. It can also be used in PSHE to explore different types of families and communities. Due to the simple language and pictures I think this book would be suitable for years 1 and 2.

[Mina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jo is a young girl who is ill and whilst she is at home, her mm goes to work and promises to bring her back a surprise. Jo waits by the window in between dreaming about what this surprise could be and having lots of visitors from the neighbourhood. But alas, none of them are her mum...

This text is accessible to most young children as it is very relatable. It also celebrates a diverse and multicultural environment as well as Jo being from a mixed race family. It touches on family relations, friendship, role reversal (Mum going to work and Dad staying at home) and community cohesion which makes it an excellent link for PSHE. You can also use it to introduce exploring rural environments as part of Geography. The illustrations are very vibrant and can also be used as a basis for children creating their own views out of their windows at home, drawing on similarities and differences as part of Art.

The appropriate age range for this book is from 4 to 7 years.

[Rishi De La Fuente · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jo is a young girl that is ill and while she is at home her mum has to go to work. However her mother promises her that she will be back home with a surprise. It is a surprise that Jo stays by the window each day wondering what it could be. However all she sees is all her friends that live in the neighbourhood.

This form of story text is very simple for young children to understand. It also helps create a diverse and multicultural environment as Jo comes from a diverse background. The images in the book are very colourful and can be linked in a cross curricular manner with art as children could draw their neighbourhoods or what their house looks like. This book also shows us family relations and how important they are along with community which could be used during a PSHE session.

[Naleni Persaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jo is ill and has to stay in bed for the day, but her mum promises to bring her home a surprise to make her feel better. All day long Jo looks out of the window waiting for her mum to return, and in the meantime sees all her friends from the neighbourhood, including the postman, the window cleaner and Mrs Ali from next door. But when will Mum be back with her surprise for Jo?

This is a book from my childhood. It is a simple yet entertaining story. Most children will be able to relate to the story and the characters. The story is easy to read and is nicely illustrated. This book can be read independently or as a class.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received my copy from a giveaway here on Goodreads.