The Hello, Goodbye Window

Juster, N. (2005). The Hello, Goodbye Window. Illus. Chris Raschka. Michael Di Capua Books: Hyperion Books for Children.

Brief Annotation: The window at Nanna and Poppy’s house is one that allows a little girl to see things that come into her imagination. She can say hello to people or animals or can say goodbye to them too. This is how she spends her day with Nanna and Poppy and she describes what she sees the day she is visiting.

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Grade Level: K-2

Readers who will like this: Readers who are young and use their imagination to have fun. Readers who like to read about adventures will enjoy this book.

Response/Rating (1-4): *** The water colors in this book are amazing and tell the story itself. I enjoyed the plot and how the little girl uses her imagination to have fun at her grandparent’s house because I can relate to making things up when I was little.

One question you would ask before a read aloud:

Reading Strategies Connection: “Book Boxes”

In this activity, after reading The Hello, Goodbye Window, students will decorate the outside of their own box and collect five items or pictures that are related to the book. The items should be important to understanding the book. For example, in this book students could collect a picture of a window, a picture of their grandpa or grandma (or someone they are close to), flowers, favorite foods, and dinosaurs. Teachers can also make a book box to share with students.

This activity is a visual representation of the book and helps enhance students’ comprehension of the book. This is a fun activity for younger students as they have to think about what is important about the book and what should be included in the box. If teachers make a book box, they help introduce vocabulary to students by talking about certain objects that are related to the book.