Hello: A Funny Picture Book About Brother-Sister Adventures and Vocabulary for Kids

by Fiona Woodcock

A brother and sister enjoy a brilliant day full of spills, thrills, and silly adventures in this playful story comprised only of words that contain a double L. The spare, engaging text works as an interactive read-aloud, and the stunning illustrations invite repeated readings. A great choice for language arts teachers, emerging readers, and storytime fun!

Hello! Are you ready for a brilliant day? There are plenty of spills and thrills as a brother and a sister collide in bumper cars, ride roller coasters, toss beach balls, and act silly in the chilly ocean water, where they meet a jellyfish! This playful concept-and-story book is ideal for new readers, who will love following along as a brother and sister enjoy a day full of adventure and unexpected surprises. Author-illustrator Fiona Woodcock’s spare text uses only words with double L’s, an important concept for early literacy. Parents and educators will appreciate the way each word is cleverly woven into eye-catching illustrations, from rabbit ears to a child’s boots. Fans of Kevin Henkes’s Egg, Mike Twohy’s Oops, Pounce, Quick, Run!, and the author’s own Look will love the playful tone and pace. And it all ends with a bedtime lullaby, of course!

Genres: Picture Books, Summer, Childrens, Fiction, Storytime, Plays, 1st Grade

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Fiona Woodcock knew a long time ago when she was growing up in Leicester that she wanted to earn her living drawing. Since graduating from Glasgow School of Art she has been working freelance in London on animated films, commercials and illustration work. Recently she has been concentrating on developing picture book ideas and her debut author/illustrated picture book Hiding Heidi was published in July 2016 by Simon and Schuster.

Reviews

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

This spring the second book, which lead me to Look, was released. Hello (Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, May 14, 2019) written and illustrated by Fiona Woodcock follows the siblings on another adventure. The letter pair ll and the formed words take us from the family campsite to an amusement park for the day and safely back to the tents.

Prior to the title page a bird's eye view shifts to a close-up perspective as our eyes move from left to right. On the left side the sun rises with hello inside it. Three tents are next to the mother's red car. On the hill on the right a rabbit watches the scene below it. The rabbit's ears supply the ll in the word yellow.


My full recommendation: https://librariansquest.blogspot.com/...

[Tanya Konerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fiona Woodcock is back after her charming book LOOK with this delightful ode to summer. Hello is a story about a brother and sister visiting a seaside amusement park and beach for the day, followed by a family camp out. The story is told mostly in words featuring double L's - hello, roller coaster, thrill, jellyfish, shells, marshmallows, etc. - and Woodcock's softly colored illustrations, created from stencils, children's BLO pens, and other techniques and incorporating the highlighted words into the illustrations themselves, pair well with just enough white space to make this a gentle and fun look at the perfect summer day.

[Laurie Hnatiuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

After discovering @fionawoodcock Look last year I was excited to see she had written another version titled Hello. This time a brother and sister spend the day at a beachside resort. Clever uss of the double ll's in the illustrations will delight young primary students and teachers. All sorts of possibilities for this companion book - brainstorming double letter words and illustrating - writing their own story using double letters or perhaps some other word work.

[Margarita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visualmente es una preciosidad. El trabajo de ilustración es maravilloso.
En cuanto a la historia, está bien. Sencilla, la cual te vas enterando por las ilustraciones. Ya que el texto son sólo las palabras que se pretenden enseñar. Esto es lo único que he echado en falta, texto. Alguna frase que guíe la historia y sirvan para enlazar dichas palabras.
Bonito libro que cumple su función, enseñar palabras con doble " L ".

Idioma: inglés.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't normal review or even list the books I read to my toddler, but I love this book, the illustrations and the idea of using words with ll in them. I want to be able to return to it summer after summer as the book goes through so many fun summer holuday scenes. It was such a pleasant treat to read when my toddler pulled it off the library shelf and now we're off to find Look. I hope the author continues to put out such sweet, clever, beautiful books.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how summery the illustrations were in this book (theme parks, the beach, campfires, the works!). The text highlights words that have a double "L" in them, and the Ls are typically made of objects (carousel poles, straws in lemonades, jellyfish tentacles). More a celebration of summer than anything else.

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see first grade teachers having fun with ll as well as 2nd perhaps having kids try to create their own single word or sound books. So clever of authors to be able to create stories with single words on each page. Makes me think of Bruce Macmillan and Chris Rashka's Ball for Daisy and others.

[Abby Johnson]

Composed almost entirely of words with double L's (hello, spill, marshmallow), this whimsical book features a pair of kids spending a day at the boardwalk and beach. It's a fun story that will appeal to readers who like to play with language. Hand to fans of ORANGE PEAR APPLE BEAR or JAMBERRY for more books that play with language.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

A brother and sister have fun at a seaside amusement park, told primarily in words containing a double "l."

This picture book introduces young readers to words with "ll." The endpapers feature "L" patterns, and the double "l"s in the story are worked into the illustrations. The color scheme is bright and summery.

[Jamie Macaluso · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does not have much of a story line so thats why I rated it a 4. I do think this book offers a lot of opportunity to maybe English teachers since it is a book that only contains words that end in "ill." The illustrations are amazing because they are filled with colors and showcase a lot of excitement with the characters.

[Aolund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another imaginative book from Fiona Woodcock in the same vein as her great "Look," this time focusing on words with double-ls rather than double-os and showing two kids as they enjoy a day at a seaside fun fair. These books would be so fun to read with kids who are really starting to learn and recognize their letters.

Themes: Beach

[Allie Outhouse · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my personal style of art.
Illegible at times as the Ls are substituted.
No real rhyme or reason to the word selection beyond double letter L phonics and a summer day in a beach town with an amusement park.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adore the concept. Not a US illustrator, so can't use for Mock Caldecott, but I CAN use as a mentor text for the kids to create their own stories. May use in addition to or instead of my Oops Pounce Quick Run activity.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book is about a brother sister pair who spend the day at the beach and the amusement park. Told all in one wod per page but each word has the double "ll" in it. Clever. ( of course I didn't catch on to the double ll thing until the end of the book. lol

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

More esthetically pleasing than anything. Would have preferred it to be a board book since there is only one word on each page. The kids still love it for how colorful it is but unless I was a huge fan of the illustrators art, it’s not a memorable book to buy.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me awhile to catch on to the theme, but once I did I really dug this. Great illustrations too.

[KC · Rating 3 out of 5]

All about double LL. Why? Why not I suppose.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stellar artwork and simple premise that would make it a great lap book.

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cool book featuring words with double ll's. Like "HeLLo" and "yeLLow." This would make a great storytime book.

[Colorado Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved how you had to find the L's in the book. cute and creative picture book.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming pictures intertwine with the word on each page. The entire book is based on words with two-l's in them.

[MaryLibrarianOH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Minimal text along with the illustrations show a brother and sister's experiences at the beach and a nearby amusement park/carnival.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excited that Fiona Woodcock has written another book this time featuring the double "l" like the double "o" in LOOK.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the illustrations!

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice concept and execution. Love the summery colors and the perfect summer day that encompasses the "ll" words featured.

[Jennifer Choi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cutesy illustrations introduction little tots aged 1-3 to words, charming story between 2 siblings

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A day at the beach is filled with hello's to new items throughout the day. Toddler and up

[Mary Hamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Conceptually cool 😎

[DeA · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute book that tells a story while bring to light words that have two L's in them. Recommend to early elementary readers.

[Engel Dreizehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rich colours that seem to be sprayed on, and simple words on page, all using "LL" letters with the word while siblings bond in this typographically interesting narrative.