Achieving its lofty goals— meeting kids on their level and validating them, explaining trauma theory to caregivers, validating traumatized adults who have a “hurt child part inside”—means Outside My Window is a complex, explanatory read delving into difficult subjects with welcome clarity and inviting frankness. The authors note that it’s crafted to inspire “therapeutic, compassionate and helpful” conversations between children and adults, and the child narrator’s generalized account of fight or flight responses and what it means to have “Three brains /all in my head” will naturally inspire questions and comment, as will the at-times unsettling art. (Those three brains, mammal and reptile and human, inspire a fascinating three-way Janus image that will intrigue young readers.) Small graphs of the trauma response model accompany occasional pages, in the corner, separate from the illustrations, with fuller explanations, included in the backmatter.
Ideally read with a grown-up, Outside My Window is a safe and useful book and tool that illuminates, in relatable language, the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences and the tricky subject of how to recognize, understand, and live with their survival responses. Perhaps best suited for clinical practices, school counselors or teachers, Outside My Window will serve as a resource for traumatized children and the adults in their lives who care for them.
Takeaway: This picture book introduction to stress and trauma responses will inspire therapeutic discussion.
Great for fans of: Susan Farber Strauss’s Healing Days, Chandra Ghosh Ippen’s Once I Was Very Very Scared.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
Using a window as an extended metaphor for the Window of Tolerance, a stress trauma response model, psychologist Scott explains to both children and caregivers the cognitive processes that happen when prolonged stress and trauma is endured, both validating the child while also providing suggestions for how to bring a child back inside their window. Paired with Chamberlain’s expressive and at times abstract pastel illustrations, Outside My Window has been crafted to make a heavy and complicated topic approachable for young readers, especially with the use of rhyming text.
Achieving its lofty goals— meeting kids on their level and validating them, explaining trauma theory to caregivers, validating traumatized adults who have a “hurt child part inside”—means Outside My Window is a complex, explanatory read delving into difficult subjects with welcome clarity and inviting frankness. The authors note that it’s crafted to inspire “therapeutic, compassionate and helpful” conversations between children and adults, and the child narrator’s generalized account of fight or flight responses and what it means to have “Three brains /all in my head” will naturally inspire questions and comment, as will the at-times unsettling art. (Those three brains, mammal and reptile and human, inspire a fascinating three-way Janus image that will intrigue young readers.) Small graphs of the trauma response model accompany occasional pages, in the corner, separate from the illustrations, with fuller explanations, included in the backmatter.
Ideally read with a grown-up, Outside My Window is a safe and useful book and tool that illuminates, in relatable language, the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences and the tricky subject of how to recognize, understand, and live with their survival responses. Perhaps best suited for clinical practices, school counselors or teachers, Outside My Window will serve as a resource for traumatized children and the adults in their lives who care for them.
Takeaway: This picture book introduction to stress and trauma responses will inspire therapeutic discussion.
Great for fans of: Susan Farber Strauss’s Healing Days, Chandra Ghosh Ippen’s Once I Was Very Very Scared.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
