The Goodbye Book

PreS-Gr 2—This picture book shows young children that even when goodbyes bring sadness and unfamiliar emotions, those feelings will ease with the help of time, remembrance, and support. The Goodbye Book addresses the range of emotions someone might feel after a loss, including anger, sadness, lack of joy, and denial, as well as the desire to stop eating or sleeping. Parr explains that even when a person starts to feel better, there could be moments of grief or confusion, but at the end of the day, another person will always be available to provide love and comfort. The colorful illustrations, in an naive, childlike style and outlined in black, feature a goldfish that experiences the emotions discussed throughout the book. Young readers can infer what the goldfish is feeling by looking at the picture, and the imaginative representation gives the book a soothing tone. The Goodbye Book never specifies what the exact scenario is, making it an appropriate choice whether a child is dealing with death or another difficult situation. VERDICT An honest but gentle look at the grief that comes with saying goodbye. An essential purchase for all early childhood collections.—Liz Anderson, D.C. Public Library

With this deceptively simple look at coping with loss, featuring a fish in a fishbowl whose companion disappears, Parr adds to the list of universal issues he has explored, including family, thankfulness, love, the environment, and peace. Parr speaks to children in their own language, pairing easily interpreted pictures with empathic text that leaves ample room for interpretation and personalization--this is a book that could easily be used as a lead-in to discussions about death, a family move, or less dramatic separations. Acknowledging that "It's hard to say goodbye to someone," the direct and supportive narrative traces the fish's initial reactions to the other fish's disappearance (including sadness, anger, confusion, and denial), which give way to a gradual recovery as time passes ("You'll remember all the fun you had"). The reassuring message that "there will always be someone to love you and hold you tight," reinforced by a picture of a boy holding the fishbowl, drives home the idea that, while goodbyes are often difficult, they aren't insurmountable. Ages 3-6. Agent: Liz Stahler, Suppertime Entertainment. (Nov.)