The Hello, Goodbye Window

 Juster, N. (2005). The Hello, Goodbye Window. New York: Michael Di Capua Books. Grades K-2.
Written by: Norton Juster and Chris Raschka
Awards: Caldecott Award Winner
Subject Area: Language Arts
Genre: Fiction

Summary:
This story is about a window, a very special window. This young girl's grandparents have a house with many windows, but there is only one hello, goodbye window, and that is the one in the kitchen. The young girl loves this window, because she can play tricks and games with her grandparents through the window, scare them, make funny faces, and wave. When she is inside, he grandparents say sometimes you never know who you may see through the window which is what is so exciting. This story is a great story about love between a young girl and her grandparents.

Theme: Relationships and imagination


Initiating Questions and Activities:

1. What does the cover tell us?
2. Who do you think look in and out of the window?
3. Do you have windows where you live?
4. What do you see outside of your window?

Activity:
Draw a large window on the board. Have the children look out the window and tell you what they see. As the tell you what they see, write or draw it in the window that you drew on the board. Ask them what they might see during each season if they looked out that same window.

Culminating and Extending Questions:

1. What character's were in the story?
2. Who or what would you want to see if you looked out the window?
3. Is there a special room that your grandparents spend most their time in?
4. What made the window special?

Activity:

Give the children a long piece of paper. Have them draw three windows.
In the first window: Draw what they see from their kitchen window at home--Looking out.
In the second window: Draw what they see looking in their window at home (Looking in).
In the third window: Use your imagination and draw something that you would like to see outside your window, that you probably wouldn't normally see. (example: I would want to wake up and see a giraffe outside of my window or I would want to wake up and see it snowing icecream!)