Module 3: The Hello, Goodbye Window

Juster, N., & Raschka, C. (2005). The hello, goodbye window. New York: Michael di Capua Books/Hyperion Books for Children.

Summary: A visit to Nanna and Poppy’s house is told through the eyes of their granddaughter. She describes the most important parts of her visit, namely seeing her grandparents through the kitchen window as she arrives and leaves their home, as well as spending time with them throughout the house.

Response: The use of mixed media in the artistic rendering of the book drew me in upon my first reading. I enjoyed feeling the energy and excitement of the little girl as the story is told through her eyes. The art style has movement, texture and depth and accurately portrays the perspective of the young girl at her grandparent’s house. I think my favorite part is when she is taking a nap and says that “nothing happens until I get up”. I was also delighted to see that the grandparents are a mixed race couple, something that you don’t see in many picture and story books. The story relays no further insight to the family background and this lack of information makes the characters and their lives even more common place and accepted.

Reviews:

JUSTER, Norton.
The Hello, Goodbye Window.
illus. by Chris Raschka. unpaged. Hyperion/
Michael di Capua Bks. Apr. 2005. Tr $15.95.
ISBN 0-7868-0914-0. LC 2004113496.
PreS-Gr 1-- The window in Nanna and Poppy's kitchen is no ordinary window-it is the place where love and magic happens. It's where the girl and her doting grandparents watch stars, play games, and, most importantly, say hello and goodbye. The first-person text is both simple and sophisticated, conjuring a perfectly child-centered world. Sentences such as "When I get tired I come in and take my nap and nothing happens until I get up" typify the girl's happy, imaginative world. While the language is bouncy and fun, it is the visual interpretation of this sweet story that sings. Using a bright rainbow palette of saturated color, Raschka's impressionistic, mixed-media illustrations portray a loving, mixed-race family. The artwork is at once lively and energetic, without crowding the story or the words on the page; the simple lines and squiggles of color suggest a child's own drawings, but this is the art of a masterful hand. Perfect for lap-sharing, this book will find favor with children and adults alike.
By Angela J. Reynolds, Washington County Cooperative Library Services, Hillsboro, OR; Trevelyn E. Jones, Editor; Luann Toth, Managing Editor; Marlene Charnizon, Associate Editor; Daryl Grabarek, Contributing Editor and Dale Raben, Assistant Editor

Reynolds, A. J., Jones, T. E., Toth, L., Charnizon, M., Grabarek, D., & Raben, D. (2005). The Hello, Goodbye Window. School Library Journal, 51(3), 174.

THE HELLO, GOODBYE WINDOW
NORTON JUSTER, ILLUS. BY CHRIS RASCHKA.
Hyperion/di Capua, $15.95 (32p) ISBN 0-7868-0914-0

(*) Juster (The Phantom Tollbooth) crafts a cozy portrait of a grandchild and her grandparents in this endearing book, illustrated in paintbox colors by Raschka (Be Boy Buzz). A curly haired girl--who dances with wiggly energy in Raschka's lush paintings--describes playful visits to her Nanna and Poppy, whose kitchen window provides the perfect venue to say hello and goodbye. "You can climb up on the flower barrel and tap," she says, "then duck down and they won't know who did it." Her grandparents welcome her into a sunlit, spacious kitchen filled with plants, where she doodles and listens to Poppy play "Oh, Susannah" on the harmonica. At night, the "Hello, Goodbye Window" functions as a mirror, and the girl jokes about being outside looking in: "Poppy says, 'What are you doing out there? You come right in and have your dinner.' And I say, 'But I'm here with you, Poppy,' and then he looks at me in his funny way." Juster departs from the over-the-top punning of his earlier works to create a gently humorous account of a family's conversations and games, all centered on the special window. Raschka warms the pages with glowing yellow, emerald, sapphire and golden brown, and he pictures the garden and trees in emphatic midsummer greens. The characters smile at one another with a doting twinkle in their eyes, and grandparents especially will be charmed by this relaxed account of how a child's visit occasions everyday magic. Ages 2-up. (Apr.)

THE HELLO, GOODBYE WINDOW. (2005). Publishers Weekly, 252(8), 173-174.

Program: After reading the story, have a “special” window set up (a puppet show curtain or the like) and have the kids be visited by fantastical things, people and creatures.