The Hello, Goodbye Window

The Hello, Goodbye Window
by Norton Juster
Illustrated by Chris Raschka
32 Pages

This story is about a young girl that stays over at her grandparent’s home very frequently. Her favorite thing about her grandparents house is the big window which she calls the hello, goodbye window. She enjoys this window because it is right where it needs to be. She can see the outside world with her grandparents. They get to great each morning and say goodnight to the stars every day. The main character is very close to her grandparents and does not think of them as being old. They are her closest friends.

Person Rating-5

This is another good book that people can relate to. I love my grandma’s house because it always smells like freshly baked cookies. You just walk into my grandma’s house and you can feel love. This is the kind of feeling you get when you read this story.

Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters

Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters
By Patricia C. McKissack and Frerick McKissack
68 Pages

This book explains the differences in being a member of a family that owned a plantation and being a member of a family that worked on a plantation. This book discusses slavery and how life was different for them. The book explains how the slaves did things to celebrate the holiday compared to how the master and his family did things to celebrate the holiday. The author puts into perspective how truly different things were.

Personal Rating- 5

I like how the author told how the master and his family did things and then compared it to how slaves and their families did things on the days leading up to and following Christmas. The author makes it clear for the reader to understand how different life was for slaves. It also explains how little they had. This book can teach the reader a lot about the topic of slavery. I think this book would be best understood and respected by a reader no younger than the fifth grade. The book talks about a lot of important things and a reader any younger than fifth grade would probably have a hard time understanding this story.

The Keeping Quilt

The Keeping Quilt
by Patricia Polacco
32 Pages

Great Grandma Anna was from Russia. When she moved, the only things she brought with her were her favorite dress and her babushka. Anna started to outgrow her favorite dress. Her mother decided to use the family’s clothes to make a quilt that would help remind them of home. She used Anna’s favorite dress for the edging. This quilt was used for many different things. It was used as a tablecloth at a picnic, a huppa at a wedding, and baby blanket for Anna’s daughter Carle. The blanket was passed down from generation to generation and was used for the same things over and over again. It was a family heirloom.

Personal Rating-5

I like how Polacco demonstrated the Russian culture by telling the story of the keeping quilt. Many family’s have different heirlooms that are passed from one generation to the next. The pictures in this book went along really well with the story.