Hello Hello

Wenzel, Brenden. Hello Hello. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2018.

In the picture book Hello Hello Brenden Wenzel highlights some of his favorite animals, many of which are on the Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered list. The underlying message of the text is diversity – saying hello to others, even if they are different from you. Making friends starts with saying hello. Brendend Wenzel often choose opposites for his two-page spreads: black and white, spots and stripes, quiet and loud.

Brenden Wenzel used bright, bold colors in a variety of media to create his illustrations – cut paper, colored pencil, oil pastels, marker, and the computer. The illustrations could easily be a springboard for art projects in the classroom. The note from the author at the close of the book includes some activities you could get your students involved in: do more research on the animals in the book and tell others about them or write a letter to a conservationist trying to save one of the animals mentioned. Even though it is a picture book with very limited vocabulary, the book could be used with older students as well – in fact, older students would be better suited to the activities mentioned.

I will be including Hello Hello in my Mock Caldecott unit. As we get closer to the time for the unit and I wrap up looking at books to include, I am really getting curious about which books my students will choose and which book will win the award.

Any thoughts? Like and comment below.

If you’d like to include Hello Hello in your library, feel free to use my affiliate link which helps support this children’s literature blog.