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The Hello, Goodbye Window Review
User Submitted The Hello, Goodbye Window ReviewsNovember 24, 2008 The Hello, Goodbye Window The Hello, Goodbye Window is the 2006 winner of the Caldecott Medal, and was a great hit with my son. He had me read the book to him twice, and laughed throughout. I think my son is the perfect age for this book, because it is all about the special kitchen window at a little girl's grandparents' house. Each page talks about some different aspect of how the window is special. They greet each other through the window, surprise each other, make faces, look at their reflections, and look at the stars. My son especially liked the page where they looked at, and talked to, their reflections in the window. A little while after reading the book I saw my son staring at his reflection in our sliding glass door, smiling and moving back and forth, watching his image. I know that he was imitating the girl in the book. When I asked him if he liked the book he said yes, but when I asked him if he liked the pictures he said no, that they were too scribbly. Even though the pictures do have a scribbly effect, he had no problem following along and pointing at objects in the pictures, and it certainly had no effect on his enjoyment of the book. I did think it was funny that the one thing he took issue with - the art - was the part of the book that was honored by the Caldecott Medal. November 9, 2008 The Hello, Goodbye Window Great illustrations. Wonderful book to give children the opportunity to see how imagination can play into their own world. September 27, 2008 Lovely idea What a touching little story! Tis is from the perspective of a little girl who is babysat by her grandparents--and the love between all three is evident and incredible. The writing is charming and will connect with small kids, and the artwork is just a blast. August 24, 2008 Didn't care for it. I just don't particularly like it, and neither do my children. The story isn't interesting and the illustrations aren't engaging. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, and since my copy just takes up space on our bookshelf, I will probably donate it to the next church fund raiser. After all, it's in perfect condition. August 3, 2008 Like the story, not so sure about the illustrations They just aren't my preferred style. I like that the little girl is biracial, and that her grandparents are a biracial couple, that's always good to see (especially when it isn't A Very Big Deal). And I do like the way the colors in the book pop out. Not sure I like how it's done, though. At any rate, it's a well-written story, full of just the sort of details you'd expect a five-year-old narrator to put in, and it's clear that everybody in this family loves each other very much. Definitely check it out. June 20, 2008 window review A sweet, simple book about the joys of grandma's house, expressed from a child's perspective. May 16, 2008 Not a Good Book I purchased this book because of the glowing reviews, but was most disappointed by both the illustrations, which were too loosely drawn to almost make the images unrecognizable, and the story which was of little note in that it wasn't interesting, fun, or insightful. April 23, 2008 Builds Connections Between a Grandchild and Grandparents Two generations ago, many grandchildren grew up enjoying daily contact with at least one set of grandparents. In our wildly spread-out families today, grandparents are more likely to jet in for a brief visit. How can a grandchild hope to appreciate the special relationship that can be had with supportive, loving grandparents? The Hello, Goodbye Window can help. In this book, grandparents are on center stage while parents recede into the working background. That's a nice change of focus for a start. But these aren't remote grandparents, these are caring grandparents who pay a lot of attention and are always around. Any child would feel much more secure thinking about this concept of extended family. The illustrations are spectacular: They could have been done by a gifted youngster (reminding me of Picasso's comment of how hard it is to make art like a child is) which makes the pages more accessible to a young grandchild. I particularly like the way many of the skin hues didn't make you immediately think of one kind of ethnic background. As a result, many of the illustrations will probably make many young readers feel it's a book with illustrations about people who look like them. A particular advantage of this book is that it could be used as a model for a child to create his or her own book (along with illustrations) about her or his grandparents and what they all do together. Now wouldn't that be fun! December 18, 2007 the hello, goodbye window Book was purchased for our grand daughter for grand parents day at her school - teacher called her to front of the room and read the book to the first grade class - we received a warm thank you from the teacher September 10, 2007 Happy mood and wonderful grandparent relationship It can be hard to find books with positive depictions of relationships with grandparents -- there are so many stereotypes of the elderly as being unfriendly or aloof, as well as what it means to be a grandparent (i.e. that being a grandmother is synonymous with a 90 year old knitting in a rocking chair with her white hair tucked in a bun). These seem outdated and inapplicable to most kids' lives these days, and I enjoyed a book that presented a fresh, positive look at the grandchild/grandparent relationship. "The Helo, Goodbye Window" shows the most important aspect of all: true warmth between a girl and her grandparents. She has a wonderful relationship with them that seems to benefit all three of them, and the happy mood created by the words and the pictures makes this an enjoyable reading experience. The matter of characters' ethnicity(ies) is infinitely more noticeable in the discussions of the book than in the book itself; "Black, white, just right!" this book is not. As in real life, all the characters are brown, and you can draw your own conclusions on what "race" you'd like to classify them as (or not), based on how much that matters to you. My son was crazy about this book before it won the Caldecott, and that's what matters in my situation. I disagree with those who found the pictures to be inferior, but I see no reason to argue about it. Those who enjoy any book can continue to do so, while others can move on to find others that suit them better. For more The Hello, Goodbye Window reviews click here.
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