Jack Foreman, illustrated by Michael Foreman,
Say Hello
Walker Books/Candlewick Press, 2009.

Ages 3-7

“Left out.” The first words of Say Hello sit alone on a page that feels as empty as the world does when we are lonely. A single blue crayon line runs horizontally across the page above a solitary dog, separated even from the two words of text in the opposite corner.  From the first spread onward, father-son pair Michael and Jack Foreman gracefully integrates text image and meaning in this poignant book about loneliness, empathy, and our ability to care for each other.

Under the skilled fingers of illustrator Michael Foreman, the horizontal line becomes the silhouette of an empty life, distant buildings, a happy home, trees and even clouds, the story taking shape alongside the line. A solitary dog wanders in search of a friend. He watches a child and cat play. He takes an inquisitive sniff through garbage. Nothing offers the friends he seeks.  A group of children playing ball, though – now that offers promise! Happily, he joins the game, having so much fun that he doesn’t see the sad boy drooping nearby. Alone. Despairing. Left out. But when the dog spots him and leaves the fun to draw the boy into the group, we remember, “When someone’s feeling left out, low, / It doesn’t take much to say …Hello!”

This is not the Michael Foreman of exuberant, rambunctious color we so well know. Soft, spare charcoal and pastel drawings superbly reinforce the weight of loneliness the minimal text perfectly captures. “Left out, no fun. / Why am I the only one?” Loneliness is universal, the desire for love and friendship a sign of our humanity. Author Jack Foreman wrote the poem that inspired his text after facing bullies when he was ten years old, but it shows all the skill of adulthood. He parses all unnecessary words so that each piece of text sinks into the subconscious with the weight of the child’s sad, dragging feet. The duo’s deep understanding of space, composition and the power of the phrase “less is more” tactilely reinforces the final take-away: sometimes the smallest gesture makes the biggest impact.

Sara Hudson
October 2011