Hello, Goodbye
Hello, Goodbye
by ReadRead · 90 sec“Goodbye, Mum!” says Lily. “Hello, Miss Wang!” A gentle first-day book for very new readers: one short sentence on every page, and the picture always shows who is coming and who is going.
Part of Family Shelf
Website price: $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year, 7 days free. Every book, for every child.
About Family ShelfYou can also subscribe on iPhone or iPad. Confirm the App Store price shown in the app; it may vary by region.Inside the book
Today is Lily’s very first day at kindergarten. At the gate she holds her backpack straps and says “Goodbye, Mum!” Then the day is full of hellos: hello, Miss Wang; hello, little hamster; hello, blocks; hello, new friends Jun and Amy; hello, butterfly in the garden. At home time the hamster goes to sleep, the blocks go back in the box, and everyone waves goodbye. And who is waiting at the gate? “Hello, Mum!”
The new words in this book
What you say when you meet someone. It comes up 6 times, and every time someone on the page greets Lily: Miss Wang bends down and waves, the hamster pops out and waves its paw, the blocks hop up into a tower, Jun and Amy jump up to wave, a butterfly flies to her hand, and Mum comes back through the gate.
What you say when someone goes away. It comes up 6 times: Mum waves and walks out through the gate, the hamster trots home to sleep in its tank, the blocks jump into the toy box, and on the play page friends, the sun and the clouds all wave goodbye.
Made for children about to start kindergarten, when saying goodbye at the gate is the hardest part of the day. Each page has one short sentence (3 to 6 words) in one pattern: “Hello, blocks!” says Lily. / “Goodbye, blocks!” says Lily. Only one word changes, so a child can say the page with you by the third spread. The story ends where the day ends: Mum always comes back. Every other word is one a 4-year-old already knows, like mum, little, new, friends and blocks.
Questions to ask while you read
Pause after each spread and ask one question. There are no right answers; the point is to get your child talking.
- 1Who is Lily saying goodbye to? Can you wave goodbye too?
- 2Who is the lady with the bun? Say hello to Miss Wang!
- 3What little animal came out to say hello?
- 4What are the blocks making? Count them!
- 5Who are Lily’s new friends? Can you say their names?
- 6What landed on Lily’s hand in the garden?
- 7Where did the hamster go? Is it asleep?
- 8Where do the blocks go at home time?
- 9Tap a friend. Where do they go when they say goodbye?
- 10Who is at the gate? What does Lily say?
How hard is this book?
About 50 words, one short sentence at a time, one pattern that repeats.
- Dialogue × 10“Hello, Mum!” says Lily.
All 10 words, most used first
says 10 · goodbye 6 · hello 6 · blocks 2 · friends 2 · hamster 2 · little 2 · butterfly · new · tap
Names don’t count: the picture shows who it is.
Tips for parents
- First time: use Read to me and just enjoy the pictures together. It takes about a minute and a half.
- Wave together: a big wave on “hello”, a slow wave on “goodbye”.
- Read it again and pause before “hello” or “goodbye”, so your child can say it.
- Before the first day, play it as a game at home: say goodbye at the door, then “Hello, Mum!” when you come back.