Caldecott Monday: The Hello, Goodbye Window

[osprey_archer]

Now, the Caldecott award goes to the illustrator, not the author, so in a sense this is beside the point - but the author of The Hello, Goodbye Window is Norton Juster, the man who wrote The Phantom Tollbooth. These books are nothing alike and The Hello, Goodbye Window will not scratch your Phantom Tollbooth itch, but nonetheless, I felt that I should note this fact.

Anyway, this is a bright and colorful book in an illustration style that I do not particularly care for - it’s like a particular bright version of Quentin Blake illustrations, big blotches of color that splodge out from the strong black outlines. I always felt it rather unfair that Matilda got stuck with illustrations like that, although by now I’m so used to them I’d probably miss them if I read an edition without them.

However, if that is the sort of thing you like, then probably you’ll like the illustrations in The Hello, Goodbye Window too. The grandparents (possessors of the Hello, Goodbye window, from which one waves Hello and/or Goodbye) are a mixed race couple, which is nice.

Comments

[asakiyume]

big blotches of color that splodge out from the strong black outlines.

This made me laugh. I know what you mean! And while I like Quentin Blake illustrations fair enough for what they are, I agree that it's kind of too bad that Matilda got stuck with them.

The fact that this book is nothing like The Phantom Tollbooth just goes to show that people contain multitudes.

[osprey_archer]

Quentin Blake seems to have illustrated all the Roald Dahl books and for most of them, his style seems rather fitting even though it's not my favorite - although maybe that's just because I'm so used to Roald Dahl books with Quentin Blake illustrations?

But even though I'm used to seeing Matilda with Quentin Blake illustrations, I still wish we could see what another illustrator might do with that book.