The Hello, Goodbye Window

Juster, N. (2005). The hello, goodbye window. Hyperion Books for Children: New York, New York.

Age Level: 4-7

Genre: This is a picture storybook because it uses vibrant pictures to enhance the text of the story.

Norton Juster’s picture storybook The Hello, Goodbye Window, first captured my attention for its warm and colorful illustrations done by Chris Raschka. As I opened the book and began to read, the story did not disappoint. The book is a 2006 Caldecott Award winner and its bright and endearing story made me enjoy this book.

Told from a first-person point of view, The Hello, Goodbye Window is a story about a young girl who visits her grandparents often. As she goes into the house through the back door, she must pass the kitchen window, which she calls the “Hello, Goodbye Window.” To the main character, this window is magical and it is where she greets her grandparents first every time she comes to visit. Once inside, the kitchen becomes the heart of the house. It is where she and her grandparents share memories, eat, and of course watch and imagine all sorts of things outside the “Hello, Goodbye Window.” The story is told through the eyes of the child in the story; therefore, the descriptions of the house and the imaginary creatures she sees outside the window are childlike. For example, on page 5 of the story, she describes the kitchen: “Just look at the kitchen. It’s so big. It has a table you can color on and lots of drawers to take stuff out of and play with. But you can’t touch anything under the sink. You could get very sick.” These child-like points of views are what make The Hello, Goodbye Window so special. An adult may not appreciate or pay attention to these descriptions, but a young child who is hearing this story will understand immediately, all of the things that she says and can relate to them. To a young child, under the kitchen sink, might in their homes, also be a place where they could touch things that make them sick. As a teacher of very young children, I often wonder how my students will understand the things that are being taught to them or how I should say things so that they will understand. I believe this book is extremely helpful and is a great reminder of how simplistic things seem to young children.

Illustrations done by Chris Raschka are excellent examples of Impressionistic art. He has left out many details in his illustrations to put most of the emphasis on light created by the use of white space. While reading this book, I questioned why the illustrator might have left out the details in the pictures, and after thinking about the theme of the book and the point of view that the story was told from, I came up with this answer:  Since the illustrations lack detail they may represent childlike qualities to reflect the childlike point of view in the text. I do not know this to be exactly true, but I think that the text and illustrations complement each other very nicely. He has used watercolors, oil pastels, pen ink, and charcoal to make his drawings come to life. The illustrations are done using warm colors such as yellows, reds and oranges. He has also used blues and greens combined with the warm colors, to represent the love and warm relationship that this family shares with one another.

The theme of the story is the relationship that the little girl has with her grandparents. The author uses the ritual of the “Hello, Goodbye Window” to symbolize the relationship that the girl shares with her family and how, to this child, things seem like they will always be the same. Her views show that she is still a child and her world is still uncomplicated and gives us insight into the way children see everything.

Since this story tells about a family, I would use this in my pre-school classroom to talk about families and the members of a family. The story is a great representation of a mixed-race family, so there is opportunity to use this book to talk about differences in families and even in skin-color, a subject that is talked about and taught in pre-school classrooms.

After reading this book and then looking through it again and again to analyze it, I would recommend this book. Not just to teachers, but parents also. I believe that young children would enjoy and appreciate this book because of their ability to relate to its subject matter.

Big Questions

Does your family have a ritual like the family in the book does of saying hello and goodbye at the “Hello, Goodbye Window”? Who are the members in your family? What kinds of things does your family do together? Are the things that the little girls sees outside of the window imaginary or real? How do you know?

More ideas for the classroom using The Hello, Goodbye Window:

http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/LanguageartsES.nsf/705DA96171DA3790852578E800416DFF/$file/Firstgrade_Reading_Unit3_CompareContrast.pdf

http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/bookfairs/currconnection/hello_goodbye.htm

Mercy Watson to the Rescue

DiCamillo, K. (2005). Mercy Watson to the rescue. Candlewick Press: Somerville, MA.

Age Level: 5-7

Genre: Easy to Read Picture book, because the book has illustrations on every other page throughout most of the book. The book is also divided into short chapters and the text is large and easy to read.

Kate DiCamillo’s book Mercy Watson to the Rescue is the first book in her Mercy Watson series. I first chose this book because I had read other Kate DiCamillo books but nothing from the Mercy Watson series and I was curious to see what the book was like. After reading the book, I enjoyed it very much and it brought a smile to my face. Mercy’s comical love of buttered toast and her caregivers’ obvious unconditional love for her are what make this book very endearing. I think that young readers would love to read this book.

The book is a funny story about a pig that is loved by her caregivers Mr. and Mrs. Watson. They believe that Mercy is a “porcine wonder” and even let her share their bed when she becomes frightened.  Mercy’s love of buttered toast sets this story into a hilarious misunderstanding. Mr. and Mrs. Watson’s bed starts to fall to the floor and she is sent to alert the fire department to save them, when instead, Mercy goes looking for something to relieve her craving for buttered toast or just food in general. On her quest, we meet the neighbors, sisters Eugenia and Baby who set the plot in motion. The story is told in third person-omniscient and we are able to see into the minds of all of the characters, adding to the humor because while some characters think one thing about the other, they are thinking something totally different. The neighbors Eugenia and Baby are good examples of this. For example, in chapter 5 on pages 26 and 27, we are introduced to the sisters: “Eugenia Lincoln is the older sister. She has many opinions. One of Eugenia’s opinions is that pigs should not live in houses….Baby Lincoln is the younger sister. She is the baby of the family. Baby agrees with everything that Eugenia says. It is easier that way. But secretly, Baby has an opinion of her own. Baby’s opinion is that Mercy is good company.”

DiCamillo’s writing style consists of writing this book in short chapters of about five pages each. The pictures take up about 2-3 pages of each chapter. This book would be appropriate for readers who are attempting to read independently in class and who are excited to make the transition to books with chapters. This book would be a great book to use in the classroom to talk about points of view and to talk about chapters in books.

 Illustrations were done by Chris Van Dusen. His pictures are bright and according to the reverse side of the title page, are done in gouache. The illustrations are similar to cartoons and would be very appealing to young readers. Because the story is full of humor, the brightness of the paint reflects this and makes the book even more attractive. Because this is an easy-to-read book and is divided into chapters, the illustrations come less often that a picture storybook. The pictures occur about every other page and illustrate what is happening in the text and add to the humor of the text.

Big Questions:

How does Mercy eventually solve Mr. and Mrs. Watson’s problem?

Have you ever agreed with someone because it was “easier” even though you didn’t really agree with that person?

What do you think a “porcine wonder” is?

Resources for the Classroom:

These websites include the author’s website and the book website, along with more lessons that give opportunity to use Mercy Watson to the Rescue.

http://katedicamillo.com/

http://mercywatson.com/

http://www.lessonpathways.com/Pathways/Detail?path=%2fLangauge_Arts%2fYear_2_Language_Arts_Guided_Journey%2f(Sample)_Week_1%253a_Mercy_Watson_to_the_Rescue%2fRead_%2522Mercy_Watson_to_the_Rescue%2522

http://www.candlewick.com/book_files/0763622702.mis.1.pdf

Olivia

Falconer, I. (2000). Olivia. New York, NY:  Simon & Schuster.

Age Level: 4-7

Genre: This is a Picture Storybook because it uses illustrations to enhance the text of the book.


Reflection:

Olivia by Ian Falconer is a hilarious hardcover children’s picture book about a pig and all of the things that she loves to do. This book was also a Caldecott Honor book. I chose this book because it is a popular book that I often saw students reading, but I had never actually read it myself. The simplicity of the illustration on the front of the dust jacket also drew me in and made me want to find out what the book was about. The front of the book had a simple title in large black and gray print. It also displayed a gray, black and white illustration of a pig with a bright red dress on. The simplicity of the front of the dust jacket reflects the simple, but funny illustrations inside. After reading Olivia, I would highly recommend it for young students who are beginning to read. The joy of the book is something that I would want to share with my students.

In the story, we meet Olivia, a vivacious and confident pig and we are introduced to her family: her mother, her father, her little brother Ian, and the dog Perry and Edwin the cat. We find out all of the things that Olivia is good at and we also find that she is confident and will try anything that she thinks interesting. This includes: copying the painting Autumn Rhythm #30, by Jackson Pollock on one of the walls in her house and building an exact replica of the Empire State Building out of sand. We also find that she never tires and is very good at negotiating with her parents. The plot of the book is episodic. Each thing that Olivia does is not in chronological order, but is spread out over different days. For example, one day, Olivia is at the beach building sand castles, and then on rainy days, she goes to the museum to look at her favorite painting. The setting of the book also ranges from the beach, to the museum to Olivia’s house.

 The theme of the book is about being confident and facing your fears and trying new things. Children in the classroom have all had to face new things and will be able to relate to the main character Olivia. All children can learn from Olivia about how to be confident and to not give up the first time that you fail. This book could be used to teach students about comparison and contrast by having students compare their lives with Olivia’s. Since I teach Head Start, this sort of lesson would help my students realize that stories can relate to our lives. Websites with more ideas about how to use Olivia in the classroom can be found at the end of this reflection.

 Illustrations, which were also done by Ian Falconer, enhance the text of the pages and are what complement and make the text comical. The sentence: “Sometimes Ian just won’t leave her alone, so Olivia has to be firm,” (pg. 6) is a sentence that is not so effective or convincing on its own. The illustration that goes along with it shows Olivia with a paper bag on her head with a scary face drawn on to it and her little brother Ian running away. The illustrations range from doublespread to each illustration representing the text on each page. At several points in the book, Olivia is drawn multiple times on one page, doing different things, such as jumping rope, playing with a yo-yo or standing on her head. Ian Falconer uses Expressionistic art for his illustrations. He uses the same black, white, and gray colors to draw Olivia and her family, but then uses the color red to illustrate or exaggerate something that Olivia is good at. For example, she is drawn using a yo-yo, and the yo-yo is red. Many of the things that Olivia wears are also red such as her dresses, hats, purse or even a pair of sunglasses. The color red is often the color of confidence, so it is obvious that since Olivia is exuberating confidence on every page, that she would wear the color red.

Big Questions to Ask:

How do you show your confidence? How is your family and life alike or different from Olivia’s?

Lesson Ideas:

http://www.pampetty.com/oliviastudent.htm

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/olivia.php

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Selznick, B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

Age Level:  9-12

Genre: Realistic fiction

Reflection:

Brian Selznick’s young adult novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a combination of a picture book, graphic novel, and movie. The illustrations are essential to the progression of the plot and make this novel a unique experience to read. I chose this book for its mysterious summary and for the combination of the colorful and interesting cover that coincides with the black and white illustrations.

Main character Hugo is an orphan, whose father was killed in a fire, and is then abandoned by an alcoholic uncle, who was his only living relative. Hugo lives inside the walls of the train station. When going by the museum that was burned and killed his father, Hugo discovers the automata, a mechanical man that his father had loved and promised to fix for Hugo. Hugo harbors the automata in his small apartment and steals parts to fix the mechanical man. Living in constant fear of the Train Station Inspector, Hugo continues to take care of the numerous clocks around the train station, his uncle’s former occupation, in order to avoid being found living alone in the walls. Then, Hugo meets the shopkeeper of a toy store that he steals mechanical parts from. Georges Melies, the shopkeeper discovers Hugo’s notebook of drawings of the automata and his secret threatens to reveal itself. Little does he know, the shopkeeper has a secret of his own and the lives of these characters are intertwined in ways that they did not imagine.

Author Brian Selznick uses an integral setting of 1930’s Paris to include the history of silent films. Georges Melies, the shopkeeper in the story, was an actual filmmaker in the 1890’s and made films through the 1920’s. The author’s website, www.theinventionofhugocabret.com gives a brief history of the filmmaker and even offers a link to watch one of his films A Trip to the Moon, the film mentioned in the story as Hugo’s father’s favorite film. The website also offers a brief history of children’s books author Remy Charlip, the model used to illustrate Georges Melies in the book due to his likeness to the filmmaker.

Brian Selznick also illustrated this book. The illustrations are all done in black and white graphite pencil. Diagonal lines are used to draw the illustrations, expressing motion of the pictures. The book, to a young reader might seem intimidating at first due to the 525 pages, but over 300 of the pages are doublespread illustrations that do not illustrate what was just read, but illustrate what happens next.  The text then picks up where the illustrations left off. The pictures provide a motion by motion illustration of what is happening, almost like a movie. Since silent films are a huge part of the book, I imagine that the black and white illustrations and motion like sequence are homage to those silent movies. The book also offers some photographs from the actual train station in which Hugo lives and some screen shots of the movies of Georges Melies.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is made up of layers of secrets and mysteries, much like the secret of magic and filmmaking during this time. Hugo is an inventor, a magician. He is able to fix a mechanical man, he fixes and keeps the clocks running and he “fixes” or invents his life. He overcomes all the obstacles of becoming orphaned and abandoned and makes and builds a future for himself. The big idea or theme of this book is overcoming all that stands before you to become who you truly are. It is a theme that reflects not just in Hugo, but the central character Georges Melies himself.

Big Questions: How would you handle the same obstacles that Hugo Cabret faced in the story? What are some obstacles that you have had to overcome? What if this story was set in modern times? Do you think the automata and silent films would have had the same impact on the story?

I would recommend The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The illustrations and storytelling style make this a unique book that one must read.

Classroom Connections:

Here are excellent websites offering lesson plans and ideas for using The Invention of Hugo Cabret in the classroom:  

http://www.highsmith.com/pdf/librarysparks/2008/lsp_nov08_LL_hugo_cabret.pdf

https://sites.google.com/a/umail.iu.edu/the-invention-of-hugo-cabret-webquest/teacher-materials

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/amazing-world-brian-selznick-discussion-guide