I prepared this slideshow for a previous class. Jeanette Ingold is a local author here in Montana!

1. “THE WINDOW”
BY JEANETTE
INGOLD
HARCOURT BRACE & COMPANY, 1996.
PowerPoint Presentation by Christina Ann Hicks

2. Plot Summary
 Mandy undergoes the emotional loss of her sight and
mother in a terrible car accident that leads her to Texas
where she lives with her recently found great aunt and
uncles. Mandy endeavors to survive in her now
unfamiliar life that includes a new home, a new school,
and a new perspective.
 Mandy’s loss of sight leads her to discover a window into
the past, where she learns of her long lost grandmother,
Gwen. Mandy’s fascinating connection with her family
and freshly developing friendships allow her to reconnect
with her lost mother and understand her disability.

3. Illustrations
The cover art is the only form of
illustration in Ingold’s novel.
The image depicts the main
character in her attic bedroom
as she gazes out of her window
through lace curtains. There are
no stereotypes in the image and
it is almost impossible to guess
that the character is blind.
Cover illustration copyright © 1996 by Joel Peter
Johnson
Cover design by Lisa Peters

4. Storyline
 Mandy’s story begins when a violent
car accident takes her sight and kills
her beloved mother. A plain ride to
Texas introduces her to her previously
unknown family (Great-aunt Emma,
Great-uncle Gabriel, and Great-uncle
Abe), who all welcome her excitedly
into their previously strictly planned
lives. Mandy then discovers that she is
able to look into the past by gazing
outside of her window and listening for
mysterious voices that she soon
discovers are her grandmother, Gwen,
and her great-uncle, Abe. Such
supernatural occurrences do little to
return Mandy’s feelings of “normalcy,”
which she is convinced will never
return.

5. Storyline continued…
 Having developed a strong survival instinct due to her uneven upbringing,
Mandy shows persistency in her character by deciding to attend the general
public school as opposed to a school that specialized in educating students
with visual impairments. This leads Mandy to a traditional public school
where she has basic resources available to students with special needs
including a guide, Hannah, and a resource room, where she meets her
eventual romantic interest, Ted.
 Mandy slowly forms friendships with Hannah and Ted, who encourage
Mandy to break out of her self-imposed seclusion. Mandy spends the night
at Hannah’s house, watches a school football game, and even attends a
school dance with Ted. Throughout her integration into high school, Mandy
continues to develop her relationships with her family and even bonds with
Gwen, who she continues to see outside of her window.
 Throughout the story, Mandy is aware of the struggles that her friend
Hannah is dealing with at home, since her parents are on the verge of
divorce. Mandy plays a dynamic role in rescuing Hannah from herself, as
she attempts to run away as her mother eventually does. Mandy also
reintroduces her great-uncle Abe to his older sister Gwen, who had run
away and left him alone. The story does not end on an unrealistically
happy note, but Mandy does reveal that she has learned how to love and

6. Relationships Between People
 Mandy develops multiple relationships throughout
the novel by making connections with
schoolmates Hannah and Ted and family
members Emma, Gabriel, and Abe. She also
reconnects with her lost mother be leaning out of
her window to discover her grandmother, who was
never a part of her previous life.
 Mandy is also able to
connect with her friend Ted
on a romantic level
indicating that she is
capable of seeing beyond
her disability into a life that
deserves companionship.

7. Effects on a Child’s Self-Image
 Mandy’s self-image
encourages others in
that she is constantly
focused on her own
abilities rather than her
disability. Mandy never
gives up throughout the
novel in any high
pressure situations and
presents herself as a
role model for young
adults with and without
disabilities.

8. Author’s Background
 Jeanette Ingold brings her past teaching
experiences to her creative fiction works. Her
strive to produce a product that reflects her
attention to detail and devotion to reader gain is
revealed throughout the novel.
 Mrs. Ingold also worked at the Missoulian as a
writer, revealing a significant source of her investigative
skills to provide a realistic depiction of young adults
with and without disabilities.
 Ingold also brought her past
experiences in business to her writing
career, which is evident in that she has
a total of seven popular published
books.

9. Loaded Words
 A majority of the loaded words occur in chapter
four of The Window when Mandy is introduced to
Ted, who speaks in jest about the resource room
in which students with disabilities receive
supplementary materials in addition to their
general education courses. (Pg 33-34)

10. Loaded Words Example
 Excerpt from The Window depicting loaded words
 “Everybody,” Ms. Zeisloff says, rapping on something tinny-sounding for attention. Most of
the clicking noises stop. I wish I knew how many people were in the room
 I wait for Ms. Zeisloff to say, “This is Mandy,” but instead a boy breaks in.
 “Welcome to the land of the blind, deaf, lame, maimed, outraged, and outrageous,” the guy
says, his voice not far from my ear. “You anything besides blind?”
 “Ted, sit down!” Ms. Zeisloff seems exasperated but not angry.
 “All right, Ms. Z., all right,” says the boy. “Just welcoming the new inmate.”
 “Don’t mind him,” a girl says. “In my opinion, Ted’s got some functional psychological
behavioral disorder. Besides not being able to hear, of course.”
 It’s like being in the middle of circling madness, and I want to make it hold still so I can get a
clear look. I grab on to the one thing that seems a solid lie.
 “If Ted’s deaf, how did he hear Ms. Zeisloff?” I ask.
 “Not really deaf,” the girl says, “hearing impaired. Also, he reads lips. Also, he can be a real
jerk.”
 “But, Stace,” says Ted, “now we know our new inmate talks as well as walks. And she’s not
stupid, folks. There’s a questioning brain behind those sightless eyes.”
 Talk about first days. (Ingold 33-34)

11. Target Age
 Mandy’s age: 15
 Amazon.com claims that The Window is
appropriate for Grades 6-9. (http://www.amazon.com/Window-
Jeanette-Ingold/dp/0152049266/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1292126591&sr=8-1)
 Barnesandnoble.com labels the novel as
Young Adult. (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Window/Jeanette-
Ingold/e/9780152049263/?itm=1&USRI=the+window+jeanette+ingold)

12. Recommendation
 I would absolutely recommend
the use of The Window in the
classroom to represent well
written literature and
positive/accurate exposure of
individuals with disabilities. I
would have the students
document a single hour of their
days and evaluate the
difference that blindness would
make on their lives. I feel that if
students realized the drastic
impact sight has on an
individual they would be better
prepared to interact with public

13. References
 Ingold, Jeanette. The Window. San Diego:
Harcourt Brace & Company, 1996. Print.
 Additional Resource:
 http://jeanetteingold.com/
 Earlier in the semester (Autumn 2010), Mrs.
Ingold introduced herself in my Young Adult
Literature course, where she gave a quick review
of her life in literature.