Banner to say that the title off the page is Windows and Mirrors

Windows and Mirrors

Our booklist

In 1990, Professor Rudine Sims Bishop published an article called “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors”. The article shared the importance of all children seeing themselves reflected in what they read.

 

Our list of suggested books for children aged 4 to 7 offers: 

  • windows into the lives of all children 
  • mirrors for children’s own lives. 

 

All children see themselves in stories. All children are seen. Stories help children become empathetic and reflective. Themes on our list include: family and friendship; exploring feelings; kindness and community; our planet; change and bereavement; moving home or country; the power of speaking up.  

Find a printable list of the Windows and Mirrors booklist here. 

Image of a teacher holding up a book featured in our Windows and Mirrors list to show the class the story during Storytime.

My Monster and Me by Nadiya Hussain and Ella Bailey

This little boy has a worry monster. ‘It was always BIG. When it stood in front of me, I could see nothing but it’s tummy’. Talking to gran one day, helps the monster get smaller. A book to help children make friends with their monsters.



See unit in Talk Through Stories

Read more »

My Must-Have Mum by Maudie Smith and Jen Khatun

Jake’s mum can ‘make something new out of any old thing’. Their flat is full of things she has tinkered with, mixed or mended. Jake worries she might want to change him too. A heart-warming bond between a mum and her son with an ‘upcycling’ theme.



See unit in Talk Through Stories

Read more »

My Name is a Gift by Zeshan Akhter and Asa Gilland

When Sitara is born, her name is the first present she gets from her mum and dad. It’s from Pakistan and means ’shine like a star’. People tumble up her name and say it wrongly. She wishes they would ask her how to say it. When people say her name carefully it lights up her heart.

Read more »

My Name is Not Refugee by Kate Milner

What is it like to leave your home, your town and your community? To hear words you don’t understand, to taste new food? The child in this story reminds us; ‘You’ll be called Refugee but remember Refugee is not your name.’

Read more »

Now We’re Together by Nicola Edwards and Jenny Bloomfield

This beautiful story encourages us to get off our phones; stop ’tap-tapping away’. And what adventures we can have! ‘We dance and we swish and we swirl and we run, and no one’s recording, we’re just having fun’. We notice colours, light and nature and of course… each other. A book to inspire us all.

Read more »

Subscribe to Ruth's Teaching Updates