Hello! Hello!

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Hello! Hello!

Book Information

Category
Picture Book
Illustrator
Publisher
Disny Hyperion Books, 2012
04-08 Picture Book

Do not skip the front pages of this delightful commentary about life on the information highway. Nearly wordless vignettes feature a little girl is in her room surrounded by technology. Subsequent pages show each device failing her in some way, "game over" on a PSP, stuck in download mode on a laptop, no signal on her phone, reruns on the flat screen, then a bemused pose opposite the title page. 

There's a bit of foreshadowing on the title page; but I will leave it to you to figure out. 

The little girl seeks out various family members but finds each involved with some device or another. No one notices she's around. Indeed, we don't even know her name yet. But a colored leaf floats in through an open door and it is then that the reader might notice that all the illustrations up to this point are done in grayscale. Intrigued, the little girl follows the leaf outside, where the wind is blowing and other leaves float through the air. Hello.

Once the little girl is outside, the font changes to thick, lush lines as she says, "Hello...leaf." She stuffs one into her pocket as a ladybug alights on her finger, "Hello, bug." She picks a flower. She greets the world, which is in full color. As she leaves the world of technology and enters the world of nature, the pages fill with color. It isn't till she greets a horse that we learn from the horse that the little girl's name is Lydia. The horse takes her on a merry ride through nearly wordless pages in which all sorts of animals join the romp.

But, we know this can't last in our hyper-connected world now, don't we?

Hello! Hello! Is a perfect reflection of family dynamics in our technology-laden society. Cordell’s use of color (or lack thereof) and white space effectively conveys distance and disconnectedness within the family, so the social commentary is rather ingenious and spot on. The spread in which color enters Lydia’s world was reminiscent of that famous shift from black and white to Technicolor in The Wizard of Oz. There’s a whole new world for Lydia outside. There’s color and energy and joy. This pleasing story should nudge some parents and children out of doors for a bit. Don’t miss it.

Recommended by Brenda Kahn, Librarian, New Jersey, USA

*****

"It's nature's way of telling you to slow down It's nature's way of telling you, look around It's nature's way of receiving you It's nature's way of retrieving you It's nature's way of telling you something's wrong" -- "Nature's Way" by the late Randy California

HELLO! HELLO! is the story of a young girl who learns that, as Joni Mitchell taught us a generation ago, we've got to get ourselves back to the garden.

HELLO! HELLO! begins with the main character's increasing sense of boredom as she fiddles with her array of personal electronic devices. When she then leaves her room and attempts to communicate with her family members, each of them -- mother, father, brother -- are engaged with their own personal electronic devices and only interact with her in an entirely superficial and unfulfilling manner. Seeking something more from this moment, she is enticed outside by a random leaf that blows in through the door. Once outside, she discovers a real world that brings with it a world of surprises that will have young audiences rolling, pointing, and calling out -- especially us young guy readers. Eventually, the magic is interrupted by -- What else? -- a phone call from Mom and Dad. And so the main character dutifully scurries home but, once there, she takes control, powers down her family's various electronic devices, and shows her family members what she has discovered. HELLO! HELLO! could have easily been a heavy, message-driven read. But the message, which certainly is there, is fully leavened by the fantastical, whimsical vision of the World According to Matthew Cordell. And you need to be careful. It is very common in picture books to encounter the copyright page at the end of the book. But it is not at all common to find one last, vital piece of the story hiding after the copyright page. Lucky for me, this was such a fun read that I went through it a couple of times and discovered the very-cool ending. Now, as I am being instructed, I will get my behind off of this couch, and head out into the real world.

ISBN: 978-1-4231-5906-3 52 pages Ages: 2 and Up

Recommended by: Richie Partington, MLIS, Librarian, California USA

Richie's Picks _https://richiespicks.com_ (https://richiespicks.com/)

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