Book Review: Caldecott Winner # 4
Title: The Hello Goodbye Window
APA Citation for Book: Norton, J. (2005). The Hello Goodbye Window. New York, NY: Scholastic Trade.
Image retrieved from http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=6752494114&searchurl=kn%3DThe%2BHello%2BGoodbye%2BWindow%26sts%3Dt%26x%3D39%26y%3D6 on February 19, 2012.
Audience Age: 5 and up
Genre: Children’s picture book
Prevalent Themes: relationships, love, family
Brief Plot Summary: This picture book is a love song about special relationship between grandparents and grandchild. A little girl in the story feels that the kitchen window at her grandparents house is a magic gateway. All things important happens near it, through it, or beyond it. The little girl’s story is one of adventure and fun filled experiences with her grandparents she calls Nanna and Poppy. She has lots of experiences in front of that window and hopes that some day when she is a Nanna and has her own house that she can have a “hello goodbye window” too.
What makes this book interesting to me? The most interesting part of this book is how skillfully woven into the story the concept of a mixed family is. In this book the grandmother is black and the grandfather is white. At the end of the story when the parents come to pick her up the mother is also black and the father is white. Most would not even notice this especially in today’s world. I just found it interesting and a story-line that’s very pleasant and appealing for a great bedtime story too. This is a wonderful story. I loved it.
