The Hello, Goodbye Window

Juster, N. (2005). The hello, goodbye window. Hyperion Books for Children. 
Genre: Fiction children's literature
Ages: 3-13

Summary:
    This fiction children's book discusses the amazing aspects of the front window at a little girl's Nanna and Poppy's house.  In this story, the little girl is the narrator and she discusses the wonders of the world as she explores life through this window.  She discusses the world of imagination, discovery, and the excitement of being a child playing all day.  She also discusses leaving the house and being sad that she has to go but excited to see her parents after a long day of work. The little girl truly embraces the strong bond that she has with her grandparents throughout this story. 

Reflection:

                 I highly recommend this picture book for all children.  The first thing that came to mind when reading this book was how appropriate this would be for Grandparent's Day.  I was searching for a "appropriate-length" book for the grandparents to read on this special day and this would be a great one.  An activity, centered around memories with your grandparents, could have followed this read-aloud and engaged both the students and the grandparents that were visiting for this special day.

         Many topics come up throughout this book that relate to children. When reading the creative plot, through the little girl's point-of-view, many memories of my childhood came back to me.  A lot of children have vivid memories of going to their grandparents house and playing, many also have spent time looking out the window into the world that they will soon be discovering. This story embraces the concept of childhood to its' entirety.  The little girl discusses the world of imagination when she talks about the "tiger" behind the garden and Queen Elizabeth coming for tea.  I also like the ending when the little girl talks about leaving her grandparents; "you can be happy and sad at the same time you know" is a good way to describe the feeling that so many children have when they have to leave somewhere that they really enjoyed.  I thought the illustrations were incredible as well; they appeared to be painted by watercolor which would intrigue children because they are familiar with this type of art. This book received a Caldecott Medal and I can see why!