Window

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After two decades in clubland, as drink and drugs started to take their toll and he feared he was developing his father’s alcoholic patterns, David changed his life yet again… But one evening, a frenzied scream rips across the silence, and Anna witnesses something no one was supposed to see. Now she must do everything she can to uncover the truth about what really happened. But friendless, isolated and under suspicion from those she wishes to help, will anyone believe her? And can she even trust herself?

Yes, it’s a very simple concept, but once I really started thinking about it, it wasn’t so simple at all! Every tiny change that happened made me think about things. Even things that stay the same still change with age, and the population might increase, but the time is different at the beginning of the book to the end, so there are social changes – in people’s clothing, hairstyle, the sort of cars that people drive ….’ I suggested that rather than describing Window as a narrative, a better description for the book would be as a picture poem. I’m sure some people will call it that. It’s not intended as propaganda. What I’m hoping is that it’ll raise a lot of discussion, and a lot of questions.’ Choose one of the images and create a plan view map showing the places that you can see through the window. Repeat this for a different image in the story. How are your maps similar / different? A truly phenomenal debut. A taut, utterly compelling story. Smart, heart-wrenching-and really scary' - Nicci FrenchHow many animals can be found in each illustration? How many trees are there? How do the numbers of these items change as the story progresses? Draw what that view might have looked like ten years ago and how it might look ten more years in the future. When I began this book, by a conservative estimate we were losing one species every hour. Two years later, by the time I’d finished the book, we were losing two species every hour. The projected rate, if we continue exponentially changing the world, is by the year 2000 we’ll be losing ten species an hour!’ After really enjoying 'Belonging' I expected to love 'Window' just as much. Perhaps it was reading the authors note about ecological damage after reading in her last book how she collected sponges for her collage that made this seem a like an example of practise what you preach, but where I found 'Belonging' subtle and touching I found this frustrating.

Window, a wordless picture book, is incredibly effective at communicating its message to readers without the need for text alongside the collage constructions. Look at each illustration and describe how the use of colour changes throughout the story. Why is this?A deeply satisfying memoir about escape – from the bullies, from suburbia and ultimately from the gilded cage of his own creation.’ In a sense, listening to information like that is something that everyone, I think, feels disturbed by, but it’s easy to think, ‘I don’t play a part in this.’ I’m trying to show exponential change, which is a concept many adults find difficult to understand, in a simplified way so that it can be understood. All the changes in the book have a pattern – all the natural things like birds, animals, trees, decrease exponentially alongside the manmade changes.’ Draw another view from the same window before the first image in the book and / or after the last image in the book. Not quite sure what the boy was aiming at with the slingshot but I didn’t much like that picture. However, overall, the collage illustrations are outstanding. And there’s a cat!

Write a few sentences that describe each scene. Use these as narration when showing the pictures to an audience. Heart wrenching and honest. This memoir is unique in its perspective, straddling the worlds of wealth and celebrity with that of the common man, which makes it a truly fascinating read. Had me gripped from that killer opening line. Step aboard the Dusty train, all manner of life and love is here. For years David gave good drag. Now he gives good memoir, and I’m here for it.'Create a timeline that shows the main events that have changed the landscape shown in each window scene.