Kenard Pak

Two children - presumably the girl from Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn and her brother - walk through their neighborhood and town, greetings the flora, fauna and natural forces around them, and being greeted in return. Everyone and everything, from the birds to the chrysanthemums, the clouds to the sky, is changing with the seasonal shift, as autumn departs and winter comes in...

Much as with its predecessor, I found that I enjoyed author/illustrator Kenard Pak's artwork in Goodbye Autumn, show more Hello Winter far more than I did his text. The back-and-forth exchanges between the children and the natural world felt stilted and formulaic, rather than fresh and natural, and I found myself thinking, much as I did with Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn, that this would have made an excellent wordless picture-book. There is nothing covered in the text that isn't more than adequately depicted in the artwork. And what beautiful artwork it is! It reminds me a bit of Jon Klassen in style, but with a more colorful palette. Recommended to fans of Kenard Pak's artwork, and to anyone looking for visually appealing picture-books about the changing of the seasons. show less

Gorgeous illustrations with fun details, lovely theme of appreciating going for a walk noticing nature in country and town, I already love it... and then also it hits all the buttons: The child is of indeterminate gender and a warm brown color that really could be of almost any ethnicity. The neighbors are specifically diverse. Great science, including not only named & identifiable bird but also named & identifiable flowers.

Blurb should not refer to the 'girl' (in fact I assumed boy at show more first). Also I agree with Kathryn that the child should have a different speaking font than the puddle, leaves, blue jay, etc. No notes, but this is more akin to a storybook than a STEM book (thank goodness) so that's ok.

Highly recommended to families who homeschool and do enrichment, ages 4 (3?) up. show less

A young girl greets the world around her - the morning, the trees, the animals, the wind, and so on - in this lovely picture-book examination of the turning of the seasons. Each entity returns the girl's greeting, describing how they are changing or what they are doing in preparation for the coming of autumn. After a day spent walking around, the girl goes home and goes to sleep, awakening the next day to a world transformed...

Given my great love of autumn - it is my favorite season of the show more year! - and my appreciation for the beauty of its cover, I picked up Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn with a pleasing sense of anticipation. Although the artwork, done in watercolor and pencil, and then enhanced digitally, more than lived up to my expectations, unfortunately I found the text a bit pedestrian. When well done, this kind of "child interacts with the wide, wide world" type of story can be very appealing, but Kenard Pak's text here just felt rather flat. Tastes vary of course, so other readers might react differently. For my part, I enjoyed the book enough to track down the sequel, Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter, but it is primarily for its lovely artwork that I would recommend it. show less

Author/illustrator Kenard Pak returns with this third picture-book devoted to the changing seasons, following upon his Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn and Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter. Here a young boy - no doubt the younger brother from the previous title - walks around his rural home one winter night, saying hello to everything from the snow to the frozen pond. He is greeted in return, and each natural phenomenon or object explains what they are doing. Returning home, the boy goes to bed and show more wakes up to find a world thawing out, and moving into spring...

Much as I did with the previous two books, I felt that the artwork in Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring was significantly stronger than the text, which often felt more like a list than a narrative. The call and response structure can work very well in a picture-book, when done right, but I always kind Pak's use of it rather awkward. I can't help but feel that these books would work better as wordless titles, given the fact that everything the rather stilted text conveys is also communicated through the artwork. Tastes vary, of course, so picture-book readers looking for titles about seasonal changes might want to take a look. It is to them, and to fans of Kenard Pak's artwork, that I would recommend this one. show less