Between Two Windows

by Keisha Morris, Keisha Morris (Illustrator)

Overview

A friendship blossoms between two children as they pass drawings across the clothesline between their apartment windows in this imaginative picture book about creativity, the power of art, adventure, innovation, and friendship.

Between two windows, Kayla and Mateo pass drawings of dinosaurs back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...until a story comes to life and the worlds of two friends come together.

But when the clothesline is taken down, the friends must use their creativity to find a new way to keep their story going.

This fun-filled author-illustrator debut from Keisha Morris is perfect for fans of classics like The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, Swatch by Julia Denos, and Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063235106
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/02/2024
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	370,239
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Keisha Morris is a storyteller and illustrator who grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, and currently resides in Maryland. She earned her BFA in illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and enjoys creating characters whose personalities jump off the page. Keisha is the illustrator of When the Schools Shut Down, written by Yolanda Gladden and Dr. Tamara Pizzoli; The Truth About Mrs. Claus, written by Meena Harris; Words of Wonder from Z to A, by 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee winner Zaila Avant-garde; and All Aboard the School Train by Glenda Armand, and many others. Keisha made her author-illustrator debut with Between Two Windows. When she is not drawing, she loves spending time with her wife, daughter, and two fur babies, Elphie and Ollie! Visit her online at keishamorris.com.

Keisha Morris is a storyteller and illustrator who grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, and currently resides in Maryland. She earned her BFA in illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and enjoys creating characters whose personalities jump off the page. Keisha is the illustrator of When the Schools Shut Down, written by Yolanda Gladden and Dr. Tamara Pizzoli; The Truth About Mrs. Claus, written by Meena Harris; Words of Wonder from Z to A, by 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee winner Zaila Avant-garde; and All Aboard the School Train by Glenda Armand, and many others. Keisha made her author-illustrator debut with Between Two Windows. When she is not drawing, she loves spending time with her wife, daughter, and two fur babies, Elphie and Ollie! Visit her online at keishamorris.com.

Editorial Reviews

10/16/2023

A pulley clothesline strung between two city apartment windows sparks invention and friendship for two imaginative children in this art-focused picture book. “One window belonged to Kayla,” portrayed with brown skin, who’s seen draped over a chair in a pose that speaks of unrelenting boredom. “The other belonged to Mateo,” shown with light brown skin, who is slumped just as dramatically over another chair. Though it “creaks and squeaks,” the clothesline can carry their drawings back and forth, the two realize. Soon they’re trading and adding to drawings of full-fledged fantasy adventures—Kayla’s contributions in green, Mateo’s in purple, drawn by Morris (Bitty Brown Babe) in an aptly childlike style. Sharing household treats (“When Mateo’s mami made pastelitos”) provides new ideas (“the pastelito-saurus”). Then Mr. Winston, the handyman, takes the clothesline down (“I’ll get this old thing fixed in no time”), and they find a way to take their artwork from between their windows and out into the city. Shared creativity fosters deep bonds and makes bare surroundings more beautiful in this high-energy testament to invention. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

A feast for the eyes and imagination. — Booklist

A terrific, imaginative piece of make-believe, perfect for a library read-aloud with excellent opportunities for extending the story. — School Library Journal

This appealing story [celebrates] friendship and creativity in a satisfying way. — Horn Book Magazine

Honors the joy and simplicity of childhood. — Kirkus Reviews

The setting will appeal to kiddos who have a tough time finding friends outside of school in the city, but anyone can benefit from reading about a friendship forged in an unusual and innovative way.   — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Shared creativity fosters deep bonds and makes bare surroundings more beautiful in this high-energy testament to invention. — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

11/01/2023

PreS-Gr 3—Kayla and Mateo live in different apartment buildings, but their windows are directly across from each other. One day, when they are both bored, they find that there is a clothesline on a pulley that will allow them to send things to each other. They both like drawing, so they start creating adventures together on paper. When the handyman in the building takes down the clothesline, the kids have to figure out a new way to share ideas. This is an inventive story about how working together is better than working alone. The artwork, a combination of cut-paper with markers or crayon drawings, is wonderfully effective—the cut-paper is vibrant and full, while the drawings, with an unfinished childlike feel, perfectly convey that this is the adventure that Kayla and Mateo are sharing. In addition to enjoying the story on its merits, readers will be inspired to create adventures of their own. VERDICT A terrific, imaginative piece of make-believe, perfect for a library read-aloud with excellent opportunities for extending the story.—Debbie Tanner

School Library Journal

2023-10-21
Two neighborhood children become friends through their art.

Kayla and Mateo live in buildings across from each other; they often look out at each other through their windows. They create drawings and then exchange them using a creaky old retractable clothesline that runs between their two buildings. Their art depicts everyday items such as the foods their loved ones prepare for them, as well as grand stories drawn from their imaginations. The two embark on fantastical imagined journeys together and even invent new dinosaur species, such as the Pastelito-saurus, inspired by the pastelitos made by Mateo’s mami. When the clothesline is unexpectedly taken down to be repaired, Kayla, Mateo, and their neighbors turn the surrounding sidewalks, playgrounds, and building walls into a shared canvas of expression. Sparse yet satisfying text and dialogue, including playful use of onomatopoeia, complement the captivating digital illustrations, created from collaged tissue paper and Photoshop. The bright and colorful illustrations are the star of this work. Images of Kayla and Mateo immersed in their loose-lined doodles of their imagined worlds are a delight; readers will enjoy examining the spreads and finding new details on every page. Kayla presents Black, while Mateo, who is brown-skinned, is cued as Latine; a reference to piraguas, a Puerto Rican dessert, suggests that Kayla might be Afro-Latine.

Honors the joy and simplicity of childhood. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews