THE HELLO, GOODBYE WINDOW by Norton Juster

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Juster, Norton. 2005. THE HELLO, GOODBYE WINDOW. Ill. by Chris Raschka. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN 0439897505

PLOT SUMMARY

In this colorful picture book a young girl describes visits to her grandparents’ house. Each visit begins and ends with a peek in the kitchen window – the hello, goodbye window. The window provides opportunities for playing games, pretending, as well as observing the world outside the comfort of Nanna and Poppy’s kitchen.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book captures the love, warmth, and fun every child should experience while visiting grandparents. The comfortable kitchen as well as the rituals of breakfast, gardening, play time, and bedtime speaks to the reassurance a child finds in familiar places, people and routines.

The bright, colorful illustrations of Chris Raschka are detailed and engaging. The child-like quality of the illustrations suggests that the pictures could have been drawn by the child telling the story. Raschka was awarded the 2006 Caldecott Medal for the artwork in this book.

This book would be fun to share not only one on one between grandparent and grandchild, but also read aloud in a library or classroom setting.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Perfect for lap-sharing, this book will find favor with children and adults alike.”

Starred review in BOOKLIST: “Raschka's swirling lines, swaths, and dabs of fruity colors seem especially vibrant, particularly in the double-page spreads, which have ample room to capture both the tender moments between members of the interracial family and the exuberance of spending time in the pulsating outdoors, all flowers, grass, and sky.”

CONNECTIONS

This book could be used in a library or classroom setting to encourage sharing of experiences of visits to grandparents in celebration of Grandparents Day.

Gather other Caldecott Award winning books to compare Raschka’s style with other award winning illustrators.

Other books about grandparents and children in multiracial families:
Williams, Vera B. MORE, MORE, MORE SAID THE BABY. ISBN 9780688156343
Cheng, Andrea. GRANDFATHER COUNTS. ISBN 9781584301585