Greetings!

Can You Greet the Whole Wide World?: 12 Common Phrases in 12 Different Languages
by Lezlie Evans and illustrated by Denis Roche


There are kids all over the world who like to do the same things that you every day. This nonfiction book can help you learn some phrases to help make new friends with other children all over the world. The first phrase is "Good Morning," which is "Guten Morgen," in German, "Ohayo Gozaimasu," in Japanese, and "Bom Dia," in Portuguese. See how many of the twelve ways to say this that you can remember (or maybe you already know a few!). After saying hello to your friends, you might ask "How are you?" In Russian, this is Kak Dyela, and in Italian, this is "Come Stai?" Another good word to know in several languages is "Please." In Spanish this is "Por favor," and in Chinese, this is "Qing?" On each page of the book is a situation in which you would use the phrase, a list of the phrases in each language with the words spelled out, sounded out, and the list of the different languages. How many phrases would you like to learn? Do you think you can remember to use them sometimes with your friends, teachers, or parents?


















Say Hello!
by Rachel Isadora


When Carmelita gets up in the morning, her mother is making their favorite breakfast, and Carmelita's mother tells her that they are going to visit Abuela Rosa that day. Carmelita brings her dog, Manny, along to go on the walk to visit her grandmother. As they are walking down 9th Avenue, Senor Enrico calls, "Buenos Dias" to Carmelita and her mother. Then Carmelita and her mother meet Mrs. Rosen and her children, and they greet each other with "Shalom." Next, Carmelita and her mother stop by the Japanese restuarant to say "Konichiwa" with a bow. As they continue on their walk, Carmelita and her mother see Joseph and his parents, and they greet them with a "Jambo." Then Carmelita sees the bakery, and her mother says they can go in for some cookies. They greet the lady in the bakery with a "Bonjour." Manny seems to know all the languages, too, as he greets everyone with Carmelita and her mother. How many other stops will they make along their walk, and how many other "hellos" will they greet the people with.What special treat will Carmelita's Abuela Rosa surprise her with when they make it to visit her? At the end of the book, the author lists all of the "hellos" that were used in the book, with pronunciations and what language these "hellos" are from.
















Say Hello, Vanessa
by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and illustrated by Lillian Hoban


Vanessa Mouse lives with her mother and father in a fine old house, but when people come to visit her mother and father, Vanessa does not say hello or look at the visitors. Vanessa also does not have any friends of her own. Vanessa tells her mother that making friends is the scariest thing in the world, but her mother tells Vanessa to give it a try. The next day in class, Vanessa knows how to spell the spelling word, country, but she is too afraid to put her hand up and have everyone look at her. Vanessa tells herself that she will spell the word tomorrow. After class, Vanessa notices that all of the other children seem to belong to one group or bunch. Vanessa tells her mother this when she gets home. Vanessa's mother tells her to look for someone who is all alone and try to make friends with them. The next day, Vanessa is too shy, again, to spell the word, and when she tries to say hello to Lisa Goat, Vanessa speaks too softly for Lisa to hear her. Vanessa's mother tells her to try it again, but Vanessa should talk louder. The next day, other children know how to spell country now, but Vanessa hopes she will get another chance to show the class that she can spell. Vanessa tries to say hello to Sigmund Toad, but she yells it and scares Sigmund away. The next day, Vanessa has decided not to say anything to anyone, but the teacher has a new word to spell, tooth. Will Vanessa raise her hand now and spell the word? Will she ever be able to find a friend?



















Hello, Claudia!
by Barbara Brooks Wallace


Claudia's best friend is Janice, and Claudia makes sure that Janice has a very eventful birthday when they climb under their neighbor's, Mrs. Wisby, house. On her way home, Claudia is stopped by her other neighbors, Maurice, Robin, Robby, and Leonie, who get her to help them in their dandelion selling business. Claudia is reluctant, but she feels bad for Leonie, so she agrees. Claudia talks the children into going to the next door neighbors' house to pick their dandelions. The childrne tell her that they are not allowed to by their parents, but they follow Claudia, when she decides to go over there. When the girls come back around the yard, after following butterflies and accidentally letting the dogs out of the fence, they find that the boys have gone through Claudia's backpack and made a huge mess. Mrs. Hennessy, Robin and Robby's mother is very mad at the children, but she is more mad at Claudia for leading the children off. Claudia is mad at Mrs. Hennessey for not being happy that Claudia was helping the smaller children, and she goes home mad. When Claudia gets home, she learns something very sad. Her friend, Janice, is moving away. Claudia is very upset by this information. Then Claudia finds out her cousin, Sally, will be getting married in her house, which is not good news to Claudia. When Barbara gets asked to be a bridesmaid, Claudia feels that she is being left out (a Claudia Jr.) again. Claudia feels that nobody cares how depressed she is feeling. Claudia does find out after Janice leaves that there are going to be some new neighbors. She meets Duffy and his mother, Mrs. Booth. Duffy is only six years old, but he seems very friendly to the other children. Claudia finds out that it is really hard to write every day, and Janice seems to think the same thing. Letters are not the same, anyway, so Claudia is still very depressed. Her family, friends, and neighbors then throw her a surprise birthday party, but this party just seems to upset Claudia more. Duffy saves the moment by reminding Claudia that this is not a birthday party but a special "three days after your birthday surprise party." Claudia is so confused, she goes along with it, and the adults are all grateful to Duffy. At her first day of school without Janice, Claudia is feeling even more lonely, and she believes that her family does not even care about her anymore. After hearing that Janice has made a new friend in Boston, Claudia is determined that she will find a new friend, too. Duffy keeps trying to get her to hang out with him, but Claudia would prefer someone that is more like Janice. Claudia tries being friends with Justine, a girl in her class, but Justine does not seem to be interested in any of the things that Claudia is interested in. Claudia feels that she has no one to worry about her the way everyone else seems to have somebody to worry about them. Will Claudia feel better about herself and how everyone around her feels about her? Will Claudia be able to meet a new friend like Janice? Will she be surprised about who that friend ends up being?