The Hello, Goodbye Window

         The Hello, Goodbye Window, written by Norman Juster and illustrated by Chris Rashka, is a contemporary realistic fiction picturebook aimed towards early primary students, approximately aged 4-7. It is a book of an "interracial family, but being interracial is not the focus of the book" (Galda, Cullinan & Sipe, 2011). It is a book about a lively young girl who enjoys visiting her Nanna and Poppy's home because it is a special place to her, mainly because of their window. "That's the Hello, Goodbye Window. It looks like a regular window, but it's not" (Juster, 2006). As the story progresses, the young girl explains what she loves most about her Nanna and Poppy's home. It is a pleasant tale of a child's happy memories, and I cannot wait to share it with my future students.
      As described on page 56 in our text, Literature and the Child, Figure 3.1 describes the fiction picturebook genre to include "dynamic and dimensional as well as believable [characters]" (Galda, Cullinan & Sipe, 2011).  Again on page 24, next to contemporary realistic fiction, the text states that the story must be reasonable, have a well-defined issue, and have prominent characterization. The illustrations also "enhances characterization and plot" (Galda, Cullinan & Sipe, 2011). The Hello, Goodbye Window certainly complies with these conditions. On page 25, Figure 1.5 also provides some insight to which I believed are also fulfilled with this story:

• The Hello, Goodbye Window is an excellent piece of literature (for younger readers)
• The Hello, Goodbye Window depicts diversity in a non-stereotyped manner
• The Hello, Goodbye Window explores a particular culture (interracial families) accurately
• The Hello, Goodbye Window is a positive contribution to an understanding of the culture portrayed.

    All of these items enhance the book's quality, as it displays diversity yet does not focus solely on being diverse. The message relays to children that the narrator doesn't even notice the difference in skin color, and neither should they.
     The illustrations are equally as engaging as the storyline itself. The medium appears to be perhaps a watercolor or oil because of the free-flowing strokes and unique color changes within the book. The very thin lines used to outline the dramatic figures exaggerate how excited the little girl is be with reunited with her Nanna and Poppy yet again. The saturated colors also provide a feeling of warmth and comfort, so as to connect the reader even closer to the characters. Using mostly geometric shapes, Rashka again uses exaggerated artistry to pull in a young reader's attention. I feel as though the textures are so soft that they are almost collage-like. I would also agree that Rashka uses a variety of design, which pulls the attention from one object to another.
      As a response to this book, I would ask my students to engage in interactive activities. First, I would offer children to extrapolate, using their preferred method of media, their favorite thing about their grandparents' home onto a canvas or drawing board. Perhaps a student loves the fact that they have their own bedroom at their grandparents' home as well, or maybe a tree-house, etc. Also, since The Hello, Goodbye Window describes the girl's favorite imaginative scenarios that she created while daydreaming, I would ask the children to act out, as if in a play, their favorite scene. For example, the girl from The Hello, Goodbye Window looks out and imagines a dinosaur looks inside the window. If this were a child's favorite scene, I would ask him to pretend to be the dinosaur. How would the dinosaur act if he saw a window? Another activity includes one of the girl's favorite memories of her Poppy. We could incorporate harmonicas in our music lesson the day we read The Hello, Goodbye Window because the book mentions a couple of times how much she enjoys hearing her grandfather play.

My reader response questions would be:

1. How does the little girl feel when she knows she will be going to her Nanna and Poppy's home? Do you feel the same way when you visit your family?
2. Why is the window the little girl's favorite spot in the house?
3. Why should the little girl not touch the things under the kitchen sink?
4. In what room is the girl's favorite window?
5. When the girl is in her Nanna's garden, does she like to help? What kind of things do you like to do in order to help out around the house?

 

References

           Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2011). Literature and the Child. (7th ed. ed., p. 24). Belmont: Wadsworth Pub Co.

           

        Juster, N. (2006). The Hello, Goodbye Window. New York, NY: Michael Di Capua Books. Retrieved from http://ebookbrowse.com/the-hello-goodbye-window-pdf-d287040333