Say Hello - Hardcover

Jack Foreman is studying art history in college. This, his first book, is based on a heartfelt poem he wrote when he was about ten about his own experience of being bullied in school. He lives in London.

Michael Foreman is one of the world’s leading illustrators. He is the author-illustrator of MIA'S STORY, A CHILD'S GARDEN, and many other children’s books. He lives in London.

*Starred Review* 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. Preschool-Grade 1. --Carolyn Phelan