The Window Book

The Window Book (1992) Post 255

The Window Book by Sally Odgers.
Illustrated by Kilmeny Niland

The Window Book is a picture book which came out, coincidentally and providentially, in the year when the CBC theme was "Windows into worlds". The cover, in my opinion, is rather different from the book's interior, but was obviously created to reflect the title and theme. 

When I first had the idea for this book, I had a notion that a child might seek his lost mother through a series of pictures. Since I can't draw, I contacted Kilmeny Niland to see what she thought of the idea. I picked her because I'd seen a book of hers with jewel-bright pictures in the exact style I had in mind. This is not the usual way of creating a picture book. Anyway, Kilmeny suggested it would be easier to hide a toy in the pages, so I wrote the story on Thomas who travels by bus with his sister Monica to stay with Gran. All is well until Thomas discovers, at bedtime, that he has lost Monk. Gran is an artist and has created the beautiful Window Book. Monica attempts to distract Thomas by suggesting they should look for Monk in the pictures. They keep seeing signs that Monk has just been there... but it isn't until the end that they find him. The ending is open, as the picture shows Mum has arrived so it could be interpreted that she brought Monk herself...

Interior of The Window Book by Sally Odgers

I was most surprised when I came to make this post to find The Window Book barely mentioned on the internet. I couldn't find a single picture of it... so here are some to enjoy. I seem to remember the artist contacting me to suggest we might ask about a reprint, but her untimely death meant that never proceeded. 

RIP Kilmeny Niland. We never met, but I loved her work.







ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.