top of page

Grandma's Window

NEW August 4, 2023

By Janet Halfmann

Illustrated by Christy Tortland

Brandylane Publishers

Ages 5-9, Fiction Picture Book: hardcover & softcover

Buy at Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers

 

Awards

Coming

 

The Story

Grandma's Window is a celebration of kindness and empathy between the young and the elderly.

Every day on the bus to school new student Mateo stares out the window, wishing he had a friend to talk with . . . until he spots something surprising in an apartment window—an older woman smiling and waving to the bus!

For the next few weeks, Mateo and the other kids wave to the smiling lady they lovingly nickname "Grandma," and she always waves back. But one day, Grandma is missing from her window, and she's not there the next day, either. The kids work together to find Grandma and make sure she's safe and happy.

Grandma's Window is a story of friendship and kindness that shows, no matter how young or old you are, the best way to find joy is to give it to others.

My Inspiration

I got the inspiration for this story from a real-life news story about kids and their special "waving grandma" in Washington State. The grandma waved to the kids on the school bus every day for five years, and they waved back. When the elderly woman had to spend time in a rehab center, the kids and their bus driver planned something special for her. They took a big photo of the bus with all the kids waving so she'd have something to look at while she recovered. On the day she returned home, the kids and bus driver greeted her with a WELCOME HOME sign, plus lots of cheerng and horn honking!

Educational Connections

empathy, compassion, caring, kindness, new school,  loneliness

Interviews

coming

Reviews

coming

Grandma524KB.jpg

MMdiid

bottom of page