The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster - Caldecott Medal Winner

I recently read The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster. The book is illustrated by Chris Raschka. I must say, I was not in love with this book. The story was charming, but very simple. It is about a girl that loves to spend time with her grandparents, and they all love this window in her grandparents' kitchen. They can see each other in it when the little girl comes over, and then when she leaves. I do not know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it.

For me, the pictures were a little confusing. I know the premise is for the book to look like a child drew the pictures since the child is the narrator of the story, and it did accomplish that. But I did not feel like the drawings added or enhanced the story in any way. Perhaps I was just in a bad mood when I read this story, but it was definitely not my favorite children's book of all time. My favorite part of the book was the fact that this child is very close to her grandparents, which I also happen to be. It did bring back some good memories about growing up and visiting them, and that was about as far as it got for me.

I am sure there are people out there reading this blog that are gasping with shock that I did not like this book, but what can I say? With an honor like the Caldecott Medal attached to it, I was looking for more, but left a little disappointed.

Sources:
Juster, N. & Raschka, C. (2005). The hello, goodbye window. New York: Michael Di Capua Books.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ Image retrieved 3-4-08