Hello, Hello Book

An illustrated collection of one original and four traditional songs: "Hello, Hello," "Crawdad Song," "Get on Board Little Children," "Alabama Bound," and "Mairi's Wedding.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1-In this song-in-a-picture-book, a little girl and boy are shown in a variety of outdoor scenes, where they interact with a cast of whimsical characters. Children, animals, flowers, birds, clouds, and even a banjo-playing butterfly prance and cavort. Zanes's lyrics appear on the left side of each spread: "Every day brings more than the day before/Open any door and say hello/hello/hello." All of the right-hand pages open out, revealing a hidden surprise. For example, in one scene, a cat waters some seedlings, while the foldout opens to reveal a crop of smiling sunflowers. The song's "love everybody" theme and repetitious wording try hard to please, but come off as annoying and artificial. Similarly, instead of being childlike, the mixed-media illustrations look amateurish. The figures are flat and out of proportion and seem static, despite the changing poses. The accompanying CD includes this tune as well as four traditional songs; lyrics, music, and a short introduction to each appear on the final pages.-Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NY Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.