"A beautiful pairing of son's sparse rhyming text with father's simple drawings . . . A poignant debut about including others and making friends." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
A lone dog comes upon a group of kids playing ball and with leaping ease, joins the game. They're all having so much fun, they don't see a sad little boy standing off by himself. Who will spy the boy and invite him to play? With arresting images by a master illustrator and a simple, touching text by his son, Say Hello evokes the joy and relief of finding a new friend just when you need one the most.
Preschool-Grade 1. A lonely dog wanders though a town, stops to gaze sadly at a boy and his cat, and investigates a tipped-over garbage can. When he comes upon a crowd of children playing with a ball, he approaches them eagerly and makes plenty of new friends. Outside the group, a lonely boy stops to watch them play. Suddenly, the dog approaches and draws him into the group. The text concludes, “When someone’s feeling left out, low, / it doesn’t take much to say . . . Hello!” This forthright statement of the book’s message will endear the book to many preschool teachers, but even better is the sensitivity of its delivery. Both words and pictures are spare and clean. Using repetition of phrases effectively, the text is so brief that only one or two words appear on many of the double-page spreads. The charcoal, colored-pencil, and pastel artwork makes scant use of color, sensitive use of line, and ample use of white space, which visually isolates the lonely characters. A blue horizontal line high on the page sometimes represents the horizon and sometimes suggests a background of trees, tall buildings, or clouds. This beautifully designed offering will resonate with its audience; it’s short and simple enough for beginning readers as well.
A beautiful pairing of son's sparse rhyming text with father's simple drawings says it all in this poignant debut about including others and making friends. A small, lonely dog pokes into garbage cans and hopefully watches a beloved cat with her owner before coming upon a group of children playing ball and gleefully leaping into its midst. The text then shifts to a lonely little boy miserably watching the children and the dog playing. "Left out, no fun. / I wouldn't do this to anyone." Eventually the dog notices him and includes him in the game. "When someone's feeling left out, low, / it doesn't take much to say...hello!" Michael Foreman's spare line drawings on the all-white background perfectly capture the misery of being left out. The almost total lack of color enhances the sense of isolation: gray lines depict the characters, blue indicates setting, with red reserved for the ball. Guidance counselors, primary teachers and art teachers will all find a spot for this one on their shelves. (Picture book. 3-7)
PreS-Gr 2-A simple story about loneliness and the power of friendliness. Spare charcoal, pastel, and colored pencil drawings illustrate first a lonely dog, then a sad little boy as they longingly watch and finally join an exuberant group of children playing ball. Lots of white space and thoughtful page layout emphasize the emotions being conveyed, as does the judicious use of color and detail. The dog serves as the best role model in the book, being outgoing ("Can I play too?") and inviting the little boy to join the fun. The closing message: "When someone's feeling left out, low, it doesn't take much to say...hello!" is a valuable one for all ages. Though the endpapers exuberantly display the word "hello" in many different languages, the group of children depicted is homogenous. In spite of that weakness, this book would be especially useful for discussions about bullying, empathy, and character education.-Amy Rowland, Guggenheim Elementary School, Port Washington, NY Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.