Out the Window
Written and Illustrated by Cybèle Young
Groundwood Books  2/25/2013
978- 1-55498-370-4
30 pages   Ages 1—4

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“It’s frustrating when you accidentally throw your ball out the window, especially if you are just too small to see where it has gone. But ingenuity saves the day in this cleverly constructed board book, and flipping the book over reveals a wonderful surprise-an amazing and inventive parade!” [PUBLISHER YOUTUBE DESCRIPTIOON]

Review
The brown critter is not quite a hamster, a mouse, or a little bear, but no need to fret; he is a cute critter suitable for the protagonist. He or she dribbles the blue-spotted orange ball then tosses it towards the white space. Oh, no! There is a window in that white space and . . . it’s open!
Our cute little critter must be playing ball against an inside wall—maybe from his or her bedroom. The critter accidentally tosses the ball out the open window. Yikes! Now it is lost and I have some questions: Where does the ball go? Does it land or keep moving along? Will our hero ever get his toy returned?

A typical board book? Nope. Out the Window lacks the spreads of traditional books. Instead, Out the Window opens like an accordion, with the story continuing without dialogue, or much of anything else beyond images—or text. The story has what could amount to two chapters: Chapter 1 on the front and chapter 2 on the reverse.
This gorgeous board book begins by having you remove the slipcover. Then, open the boards one-by-one until you have a long story, which then instructs you to turn the entire book over and begin again—from the back of each page. Alternatively, you can spread out the book, front side first, until you have one long—nearly 7.5 feet (15 feet total)—of story. Reach the end, flip it over, and continue. Simple, just as a board book should be for new readers.
I requested Out the Window. It is not a new 2016 release, but should be a perennial favorite. Out the Window is gorgeous, a fun to read, and will appeal to young children who will love opening a book like an accordion. Once open, children will find the only words in this active story telling them to flip the book over. Doing so gives both children and the little brown critter—our protagonist—the answer as to where the colorful dark blue spotted orange ball went when it flew out the window.

What were those colorful images the little critter—was that you? Partially see pass beyond his or her (or your) window? Now able to peer out the same window from which the ball flew out, the scene becomes livelier as children learn what those oddly interesting images were, complete with movement.
Seriously, read Out the Window and meet the little brown critter. And kids, you can be the critter with a smidgeon of imagination. Highly recommended.

This excerpt is taken from Out the Window, text copyright and illustrations copyright © 2013 by Cybèle Young. Reproduced with permission from Groundwood Books, Toronto. www.groundwoodbooks.com 

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Reprinted with permission from OUT THE WINDOW © 2013 by Cybèle Young, Groundwood Books, an imprint of House of Anasi Press, Illustrations © 2013 by Cybèle Young.

Photograph© 2016 by SMorris/Kid Lit Reviews

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Copyright © 2016 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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Out the Window
Written and Illustrated by Cybèle Young
Groundwood Books 2/25/2013
9781554983704