Windows and Mirrors
Our booklist
Windows and Mirrors is a list of suggested books for children aged four to seven that represents the diversity of our world.
Our list gives:
- windows into the lives of all children
- mirrors for children’s own lives.
We include books that help children establish their place in the world, books where all children – especially those from underrepresented groups – get to be the main protagonist in a story.
Windows and Mirrors is updated monthly.
Find a printable list of the Windows and Mirrors booklist here.
Windows and Mirrors is now interactive!
If you have the School Portal, you’ll enjoy discovering the best books using our interactive booklist – now with the power to search, filter and share.
The engagement factor
All books on our booklist engage children, both emotionally and intellectually. They:
- elicit a response – excitement, interest, curiosity, empathy
- have a strong narrative structure and intriguing illustrations
- extend vocabulary
- connect with something that children already know.
Maryanne Wolf says:
“Emotional engagement is the tipping point between leaping into the reading life or remaining in a childhood bog where reading is endured only as a means to other ends.”
Booklist themes
Themes include:
- family and friendship
- exploring feelings
- kindness and community
- our planet
- change and bereavement
- moving home or country
- the power of speaking up.
Our inspiration
Windows and Mirrors is inspired by the work of Professor Rudine Sims Bishop. Her 1990 article “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors” shares the importance of all children seeing themselves reflected in what they read.
Farrah Serroukh says:
“To find a fragment of yourself in the pages of a book is a profound and powerful experience; it holds a mirror up to your existence and suggests that you’re not alone. For children in their formative years, this is life-affirming.”
Ava and the Acorn by Lu Fraser and Paddy Donnelly
Ava and grandad’s favourite oak tree changes each season. Buds in spring, bees and beetles in summer. When the oak tree dies, grandad says; ‘the acorn was part of that tree in the same way that you’re part of me’. A small part of all of us always lives on.
Billy and the Dragon by Nadia Shireen
Billy and her animal friends are enjoying a party when a dragon swoops down and grabs Fatcat. How will Billy save him? Fortunately, Billy has a great brain and a plan! And maybe the dragon isn’t such a baddy after all! A story with a twist.
See unit in Talk Through Stories
Changing Tides by Julia Moscardo
Lula and her dad and Theo and his mum are making a new family together. How will things turn out when they go to the seaside? Building a sandcastle is a wonderful way to have fun. But how will they feel when the tide crashes into it?
Chapati Moon by Pippa Goodhart and Lizzie Finlay
Mrs Kapoor has just cooked a feast when her freshly baked chappati rolls out the door. There’s a lively chase by people and animals as it bumps, jumps and spins. Where will it end up and will anyone get to eat it? A lovely retelling of the runaway pancake tale.
Children of the Throne by Joseph Coelho and Richard Johnson
Three children meet a magic tree man. He shows them how nature is suffering as our planet heats up. Have the adults forgotten me, he cries? More children join and soon the adults decide to help. Together we can save the world.
New to list Nov’ 25
Clean Up! By Nathan Byron and Dapo Adeola
Rocket visits her grandparents and decides to find a way to clean up the plastic spoiling the beauty of the beach. ‘It feels as though there is more plastic than sand!’ When Rocket decides to do something she does so… with va-va-voom!
Cloud Babies by Eoin Colfer and Chris Judge
Erin has a wonderful imagination and sees cloud babies in the sky. She becomes ill and spends lots of time in hospital. Her cloud babies help her and other children. Going back to school is hard; she misses her school friends on hospital days and her hospital friends on school ones. What will Erin’s parents and teachers do to help her?
Confetti by Dean Atta and Alea Marley
Ari loves the colours of confetti. She sees the colours at Pride, at her mummy’s baby shower and at her own birthday party. She throws confetti too when her uncle and his husband get married. There are so many different days and ways to celebrate love, joy and family.
Dadaji’s Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande and Ruchi Mhasane
A little boy and his grandfather love to paint. When grandfather dies, the boy stops painting. He is just too sad. A little girl asks him to teach her to paint. Together, they discover the joy of colour and soon the other village children join in too. ‘Grandfather will always be with him’.